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The 

SUPREME NEED 



The World Today 


By the Same Author 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT 
TRANSFORMED 


SUPREME NEED 

of 

The World Today 


F. D. KING 


Introduction by 
Bishop Warren A. Candler 


FOOTE & DAVIES COMPANY 

ATLANTA 


Copyright 1932 
by 

F. D. KING 


BBi 2s 



V 

V* 


'9 1933 

©CIA 57833 


Flora Hartis King 

whose loyalty to the things of 
abiding importance has been an 
unfailing inspiration 








ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
ITH deep appreciation the 



vV author acknowledges his in¬ 
debtedness to a number of friends 
who read the manuscript. He is es¬ 
pecially indebted to Dr, Curtis Lee 
Laws and to Dr, Walt N. Johnson 
for reading the manuscript and mak¬ 
ing helpful suggestions, and to Mrs. 
Carolyn Pierce Dillard for her val¬ 
ued assistance in reading both the 
manuscript and the proof. 








CONTENTS 


Introduction.xiii 

Foreword .xv 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Man Calls With a Message From God . 3 

II. Christ Spoke— A World Task Was Ac¬ 

cepted . 11 

III. A Spiritual Renaissance —How? ... 21 

IV. The Forgotten Heart of the Commission 31 

V. Out of Fear Into Fearlessness .... 43 

VI. Christ Leads Out of Threatening Dis¬ 

aster . 54 

VII. "I Come to You”—Christ. 65 

VIII. Invincible Churches— How? .... 76 

IX. Christ Appears in a Night of Peril . . 87 

X. Mighty Men and How They Are Made . 97 

XI. A Night Which Claimed New Continents 108 

XII. Out of World Turmoil Into Kingdom 

Progress.119 

XIII. Sinking Hearts—God Speaks. 129 

XIV. When Churches Will Never Turn 

Back.139 

XV. This Experience is the Supreme Need 

Now.149 



















INTRODUCTION 


T HIS timely volume, composed of fifteen 
clear and cogent chapters, cannot fail to 
command the intense attention of all spiritual- 
minded men and women who may read it. 

The subject is one of supreme importance, 
and its treatment is most admirable. The 
thought is clear and elevated, and the style in 
which it is presented becomes the subject which 
it treats. 

During the prevalent period of depression 
most people have considered that the supreme 
need of the hour was deliverance from financial 
distress into material prosperity, but our coun¬ 
try’s chief lack is not in any material good 
whatsoever. Its main want is abundant spiritual 
life. It needs Christ more than it needs any 
earthly good of whatsoever sort. 

For the new era of spiritual prosperity, as the 
author truly contends, there is an urgent need 
for mighty men, and he tells us how they may 
be made. 

The leaders of the great spiritual eras always, 
or generally, have not been men of the highest 


XIII 


learning, but they have been men of the greatest 
devotion to God and the kingdom of heaven. 
The majority of the Apostles of our Lord were 
fishermen, and the only learned man among 
them was St. Paul. Yet, these men turned the 
world upside down by preaching the gospel of 
Jesus Christ with power from on high. They 
were delivered from fear into fearlessness, and 
out of weakness into might. So it has been with 
every conspicuous chapter in the history of 
Christianity. 

Luther, John Knox, John Wesley were men 
made powerful by power from on high, and 
through this heavenly potency they triumphed 
over obstacles of godlessness in their day. Com¬ 
paratively few men of their type will be able to 
bring back a new era of faith and victory. This 
thoughtful volume from the pen of F. D. King 
is admirably adapted to inspire the coming of 
another generation of such servants of the King¬ 
dom of God. Christ will come to stand by them, 
and where Christ and faithful men unite in es¬ 
tablishing the kingdom, their efforts never fail. 

That this book may have a wide circulation 
and general reading is my sincere hope and 
prayer. 

—Warren A. Candler, 
Bishop Methodist Episcopal Church , South . 


XIV 


FOREWORD 

A MAN who is outstanding in his field of 
Christian activity recently received an in¬ 
vitation to deliver a message before a convention 
of Christian young men and young women from 
more than a dozen states. The invitation re¬ 
quested that his message be characterized by 
"pep.” This request indicates a swing of recent 
years. 

A young man with almost unmatched zeal for 
the cause in which he was supremely concerned 
was pressing forward in the spirit of a con¬ 
queror. On one of his determined drives, he met 
the Leader of the forces that he was crushing to 
death. 

Apparently this meeting was in the open. 
There was no program preceded by a series of 
"pep” meetings. But there was a Presence, and 
the Presence that day completely changed the 
young man’s life. The power of the presence of 
the Stranger permeated the young man’s per¬ 
sonality, completely changed his plans, and made 
of him the mightiest man of nineteen hundred 
years. 

I believe in a program. I follow a program 
constantly. A program may be made valuable 
but a Presence is imperative for him who puts 
his hands to the kingdom task. During the last 
twenty-five years the average church, an4 quite 


xv 


probably many ministers, have given many times 
more emphasis to buildings, to equipment, and to 
a program than to the presence of Jesus Christ. 
The results of this lamentable mistake are appall¬ 
ingly evident to any thoughtful observer. De¬ 
feat, devastation, and, in many instances, death 
are the sequel. 

These lines are being written in a mountain 
retreat where are assembled in an inspirational 
gathering Christian workers from many states 
and from other lands. The speaker at this ses¬ 
sion is as favorably known as any Christian in 
all the world. In his message last night, refer¬ 
ring to one of the largest Christian bodies of 
earth, he said, "I wonder if the candlesticks have 
not already been removed from . . . churches.” 
There are conditions in the churches which are 
appallingly arresting. 

The compassion of the average church mem¬ 
ber is too colorless to be impressive. 

The teaching of those who present the Word 
of Life has very acceptable form but is usually 
lacking in power to transform. 

The testimony of the vast majority is wanting 
in zeal sufficiently serious to arrest attention. 

The churches have more members than at any 
time in their history but they have only a very, 
very few who will dare to follow the Founder of 
the churches. 

The zeal of the average Christian is too weak 
to send him into worthy sacrifices. 

The concern of the majority of disciples is not 


XVI 


sufficient to reach the depths of humanity’s 
sorest needs. 

For years God was besought to open the doors 
of the nations where Christ was unknown that 
the good news of redemption and peace might 
be carried to those who were in direst need. The 
doors were opened. Now not only are some of 
the most appalling conditions going untouched 
but messengers of light and life are being with¬ 
drawn from tasks which urgently demand evan¬ 
gels of grace. The churches are seriously suf¬ 
fering, lamentably suffering, for want of con¬ 
cern and compassion. 

Denominational programs are usually well 
planned and the organizations are often ornate 
and members are multitudinous, but only a small 
percent, an alarmingly small percent, are ready 
to advance with their peerless Leader into the 
death grapple with the forces of sin. 

There are ministers who go for weeks with¬ 
out being driven by a divine compassion to seek 
out a man who has been shackled by the forces 
of Satan and hurried on his way to hell. There 
are office bearers who have gone through years 
without searching out a Matthew or a Zacchaeus 
and presenting to him with captivating earnest¬ 
ness the Lord of freedom and life. 

I know what will make any minister a con¬ 
vincing evangel both in the pulpit and in per¬ 
sonal effort. I know what will make the office 
bearer a messenger of the greatest news earth has 
heard. I know what will awaken and marshal 


XVII 


the churches of Christ around the world. Per¬ 
haps the centuries have never brought a greater 
opportunity for presenting Christ than these 
days are bringing, and I know quite well what 
will make the churches ready for these great op¬ 
portunities and hours. And this secret is not to 
be found in abandoning their programs but in 
entering into their incomparable inheritance. 

The presence of Jesus will transform many 
ministers. 

The presence of Jesus will make mighty evan¬ 
gels of many office bearers. 

The presence of Jesus will fire the churches 
with a holy passion and fill their members, those 
who know the Lord, with a resistless zeal—a zeal 
which will never be turned back. 

The presence of Jesus will girdle multitudes 
with the grace of humility and endow their 
hearts with endurance. 

The presence of Jesus will send the returning 
heralds back to their Christ-assigned tasks in the 
lands of deep and fearful darkness. 

The presence of Jesus will make the churches 
just what their Founder intended them to be. 
His presence will make them centers of light and 
life for the lost millions of earth. 

The following chapters attempt to show how 
this urgently and imperatively needed Presence 
may be realized in every church and also in every 
life that bears the name which stands infinitely 
above every name of earth—the name of Jesus. 


XVIII 


Chapter I 


A MAN CALLS WITH A MESSAGE 
FROM GOD 



HERE shall not be dew nor rain these years,” 


1 and this is the very unexpected statement of 
a man who suddenly appears before King Ahab. 
Some questions at once arise. 

Where does the man get his authority for the 
statement? What is the purpose of such an 
apparent calamity? What is the secret of this 
man’s daring courage? 

The man who made the statement is Elijah 
whose ancestry is almost or entirely unknown. 
However, there is something far more important 
than one’s ancestry. Out of the unknown to 
modern historians comes this man. He makes 
his appearance with a message of serious mo¬ 
ment. He goes direct to the king and, without 
apology but certainly with arresting earnestness, 
declares, "There shall not be dew nor rain these 
years.” Why does he go to King Ahab? 

Here is a weak, wicked ruler on the throne of 
Israel, and he is leading the people away from 
help and hope and into the ways of national de¬ 
feat, decay, and death. Influenced by his wife, 
Jezebel, energetic, enthusiastic, earnest Jezebel, 
who is earnest even in driving in the wrong di- 


2 


THE SUPREME NEED 


rection, Ahab is putting his influence on the side 
of national danger and disaster. 

Nations must have lifting power if they are 
to be saved from the downward pull of wicked¬ 
ness. Cities, states, and nations whose leaders 
are being lured in the wrong direction are con¬ 
fronted with grave problems. A serious and 
threatening day came in Israel’s history. Far 
better for the nation to perish than for her 
people to be thoroughly contaminated with idol¬ 
atry, and then to spread that debasing contami¬ 
nation to other nations. The gravity of Israel’s 
condition is reflected in one sentence: 

"Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of 
Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that 
were before him.” 

Then suddenly one day a man appears before 
the king with this surprising statement: 

"As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before 
whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain 
these years, but according to my word.” 

Elijah comes before King Ahab with some 
strikingly timely information if the king is wise 
enough to profit by it. A drought for three 
months is severe; a drought for twelve months is 
severely grave; but a drought for three years and 
more is filled with devastation and destruction. 
The history of this far-off experience has a 
message of timely and great moment for the 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


3 


churches and the church people around the 
world today. 

God’s eyes are on world conditions and He 
cares with a concern beyond the understanding 
of men. He will employ such methods as He 
knows to be best to get the attention of those 
who are being lured into the ways which lead 
downward. 

Men and women may stand before God today 
and hear His message, receive His counsel, and 
be endowed with His matchless gifts of fortitude 
and courage. And to the endowments which 
God’s presence gives the discussion now turns. 

Meet Elijah. He has a message of tremendous 
importance for the men and the women and the 
young people who are deeply in earnest about 
the reign of righteousness in the world. He will 
tell you frankly that the privilege, the won¬ 
derful privilege, of standing before God is not 
denied to the upright of heart. Those whose 
supreme ambition is to do well their part in 
making the peace of Christ known to human 
hearts everywhere are welcomed into the pres¬ 
ence of God. Meet Elijah. Listen to his message. 
He will tell you that living in God’s presence 
gives to men and women a true perspective of 
life and of life’s issues. 

Those who thus live will discover that their 
interest is in matters of greatest importance. 
Interest in matters which were once considered 


4 


THE SUPREME NEED 


important will disappear and interest in matters 
of supreme importance will grow with the pass¬ 
ing hours. Doubtless Ahab thought his position 
one of surpassing significance but how small it 
must have appeared to the man who had been 
welcomed into the presence of the King of 
Glory! How big must have been the work of 
Queen Jezebel, in her own eyes, as she urged 
forward her husband in establishing idol wor¬ 
ship in his kingdom! How small was such a 
motive in the eyes of the man who was wel¬ 
comed into the presence of the Lord! 

The farmer may be led to feel that his crop 
is a matter of supreme importance. The mer¬ 
chant may be led to feel that his business is the 
matter for him of first consideration. The 
laborer may look upon his job as the thing of 
highest concern both for himself and his family. 
The professional woman may be made to believe 
that her profession and her clientele are matters 
of greatest import. In God’s presence, however, 
things which are thought to be matters of first 
importance often seriously decrease in their 
showing and other matters loom large and com¬ 
manding. In the eyes of the man who stood in 
the presence of God the turning of the attention 
of the people to Jehovah, the turning of the peo¬ 
ple away from the practice which would lead to 
certain national decay, and the bringing of their 
thoughts back to God who had called the nation 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


5 


into existence for a holy purpose, this was a 
matter of supreme concern. When men and 
women stand in the presence of the Lord, they 
see matters in their correct relations and in their 
true importance. 

Multitudes who are holding membership in 
Christ’s churches need to stand in God’s pres¬ 
ence, and walk in God’s presence, and work in 
God’s presence so that they may see clearly 
things in their relative importance. 

Which is the more important, a living or a 
life? Which is more important, the finding of 
markets for goods or the sending of Christly 
men and women to the needy places of earth? 
Which is more important for a church member, 
the winning of a game of golf on Sunday af¬ 
ternoon or the bringing of a lost man into the 
Sunday night service? Which is the more im¬ 
portant, an hour or two spent at night in a card 
game or an hour or two spent searching out the 
lost of the city and speaking to them about the 
matchless worth of Jesus? Which is of greater 
importance, the spending of millions of dollars 
for whiskey or the spending of millions in the 
support of Christ-called men and women in the 
lands of spiritual darkness and death? Those 
who stand in God’s presence will see things in 
their correct significance. But this is only one 
of the many invaluable acquirements which 
come to those who stand in His presence. 


6 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Those who stand in God’s presence are given 
the courage to speak God’s message and to carry 
forward in the work of His assignment. And 
Christian courage is imperatively needed today. 
Many church members are falling victims to 
habits which cripple or ruin their influence be¬ 
cause they have not courage to resist the appeal¬ 
ing and alluring enticements into evil. There 
are vast numbers of church people who have not 
a sufficiency of Christian courage to search out 
the men and the women who are lost and to 
present to them, in appealing earnestness, Christ 
Jesus and His power to save. How much, how 
very much, are the churches needing today more 
members who are equipped with a sufficiency of 
Christian courage to go anywhere on a mission 
for humanity under God’s direction! 

The pulpits are suffering for want of more 
ministers who, as did Elijah, stand in God’s pres¬ 
ence. It would be an unspeakable calamity if 
it could not be said with certainty that the min¬ 
istry possesses the noblest men of earth. But 
that is not enough. If the modern minister is 
not God’s chosen man for the most important 
assignment under heaven, he is pitiably failing 
at a post of supreme importance. If the min¬ 
ister does not stand in God’s presence, study in 
God’s presence, search for the lost in His pres¬ 
ence, and proclaim his message in His presence, 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


7 


his work will be superficial and he will fall la¬ 
mentably short of God’s standard for his life. 

The men and the women who stand in God’s 
presence will echo the message of Jehovah. They 
will carry the consciousness that they are not 
speaking for themselves but that they are speak¬ 
ing for God and with the authority of God. The 
men and the women who stand in God’s presence 
carry the purpose of God in their hearts. In this 
strange hour in human history the world needs 
to hear God’s message. His message can be de¬ 
livered only by those who stand in His presence. 
God’s message involves far more than the pro¬ 
claiming of certain truths and doctrines. To 
deliver God’s message is to speak what He would 
have spoken and to speak what He would have 
spoken in the spirit of Jehovah. “As the Lord 
God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there 
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but accord¬ 
ing to my word,” and here are sincerity, earnest¬ 
ness, and authority. There is no question mark 
in sight. What the immediate influence of these 
words upon King Ahab was, one does not know, 
but they would have had a very profound in¬ 
fluence upon anyone who knew their authority 
and felt their earnestness. 

The many millions of Sunday school pupils 
need to feel that they are hearing words from 
those who know and experience the power of 
God’s presence. The young people in the train- 


8 


THE SUPREME NEED 


ing department of the churches need to feel that 
they are listening to leaders who are echoing the 
message of the Lord Jesus. The millions of 
members in the woman’s department of the 
churches need to feel, in their weekly gatherings, 
that they are listening to those who know what 
it means to stand in the presence of God. What 
a change will come in many congregations when 
more ministers of the Word of Life give unmis¬ 
takable evidence of speaking with the authority, 
the earnestness, and the compassion which are 
born as men stand before God! 

Those who stand in God’s presence carry an 
elevating awe in their hearts. Those who stand 
in God’s presence will evidence a convincing 
earnestness in their testimony. Those who stand 
in the presence of the Lord will carry with them 
the love which makes their testimony reflect the 
very spirit of Him who loves as no other ever 
loved. 

Those who stand in God’s presence will be 
equipped to carry God’s orders. The world 
needs to know that messengers from God are 
speaking. Only stupidity, ignorance, or a lack 
of reasonable discernment would prompt any 
one to deny that, around the world, there is a 
most urgent and imperative need for ministers 
and teachers who carry unmistakable evidence 
of the authority of God and the presence of God. 

Graft and corruption have stolen their way 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


9 


into city, state, and national governments. Mul¬ 
titudes of noble citizens have been shocked and 
have had their confidence severely shaken. To 
read the list of betrayers of trust—the list is long 
and contains the names of many who have been 
highly honored—is to learn something of the 
devastating, demoralizing, and destroying power 
of the forces of the devil. 

There is a lack of earnestness and compassion 
in many churches, including many pulpits, 
which is disquieting and disturbing to those who 
are deeply concerned about the redemption of 
the world. Multitudes of churches show but 
little of the mighty concern which was arrest- 
ingly evident in the words and the doings of the 
Man of Calvary. The sickening conditions in 
many places in America and in places in all the 
other countries of earth appealingly call for 
churches whose ministers and members show 
convincingly and compellingly that they know 
the purifying, elevating, and vitalizing experi¬ 
ence of standing before God. 

God in Christ is the only hope of the world. 
He wants to make His message known to every 
heart on the planet. But He must have mes¬ 
sengers. No man can give Christ’s message ex¬ 
cept the man who has a vital experience with 
Christ. 

If the ministers and other members of churches 
will enter into God’s presence and stand before 


10 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Him, they will deliver His messages with a 
mighty and a marvelous fervency and, in their 
constant contacts, they will convey redeeming 
and elevating power. Surely then the kingdom 
of God will come into vast numbers of hearts 
and homes around the world, and peace and 
righteousness will pervade the earth as at no 
hour since the Prince of Glory sent forth His 
messengers on their mission of world redemp¬ 
tion. The imperative and urgent need through¬ 
out Christendom is for all who name the name 
of Jesus to stand in God’s presence, advance in 
God’s presence, and deliver their messages with 
the authority, the earnestness, and the compas¬ 
sion of Elijah. Then the kingdom of God will 
sweep forward in unprecedented power, and 
millions will be won to the Saviour and enlisted 
in the redemptive enterprise. 


Chapter II 


CHRIST SPOKE—A WORLD TASK 
WAS ACCEPTED 


C HRIST’S presence changes things. This is 
just as true in New York, Berlin, and Lon¬ 
don as it was in Jerusalem. He came to change 
things. When Christ is welcomed into a city, 
He changes the city. When He is welcomed into 
a home, He changes that home. When He is re¬ 
ceived into a life, He changes that life. 

Though the people of Jerusalem knew noth¬ 
ing of what was taking place between the former 
persecutor and Christ, that hour in the temple 
when He appeared and spoke to Paul was one 
of the great moments in human history. Christ 
changed Paul’s plan, and turned his eyes upon 
territory and his heart to peoples far beyond his 
previous purpose. 

Quite probably Paul was intent upon carrying 
forward his work in the same city where his 
persecution had spread alarm. One would infer 
from his argument presented to Jesus that his 
plan was to work in Jerusalem. Jerusalem had 
Christian workers. The city had felt the power 
which emanated from the personality of Ste¬ 
phen. The city had received the imperishable 
experience of Pentecost. There were other cities 


12 


THE SUPREME NEED 


and other lands which had never had such a rare 
experience as that of a man evidencing divine 
courage in the face of jealousy—jealousy doing 
its deadliest in the name of religion. There were 
other lands whose men, women, and children had 
not heard of One who came to heal wounded and 
broken hearts; who could make out of scraps 
of humanity noble men and women; and who 
taught that goodness and righteousness are mat¬ 
ters of superlative importance. There were lands 
sunken in sin and shame. God planned to deliver 
a message in those lands. He had to have a mes¬ 
senger. Something happened to a man who had 
gone into the temple in Jerusalem to pray. That 
man was to be one of God’s imperial messengers. 

Paul’s plans were changed, completely 
changed. Paul saw Jesus and heard Jesus. The 
sight of Jesus and the words of Jesus changed the 
man and changed his plans. It was not Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem that had enjoyed the finest of privileges, 
but the Gentile world into which his thoughts 
were sent and upon which his eyes were turned. 
Those who are really concerned about the work 
for which Christ gave His life dare not pass over 
this experience lightly. The weakness of Chris¬ 
tendom in many places may be learned just here. 
The cause of the failure of a sufficient flow of 
funds to maintain the work of the kingdom, a 
failure which is seriously disturbing many, caus¬ 
ing them to lie awake nights, can be learned 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


13 


right here. But this is not the only or the most 
important thing which may be learned from 
this experience. 

From this experience churches and individuals 
may learn how to get their bearings. The multi¬ 
tudes that are limping and halting along the 
way; those who are looking into fog banks and 
are seriously disturbed about possible progress; 
those who are leading the forces of the kingdom: 
all these may learn the things of supreme inport- 
ance in this very experience. 

What was it that changed the plans of the 
man in the temple? What was it that turned 
his eyes from one city to the world outside? 
What was it that made this man a mighty and 
marvelous messenger directly to Europe and in¬ 
directly to the world? 

The man in the temple saw Jesus. 

The man in the temple talked with Jesus. 

Jesus had been crucified, had been buried, had 
arisen, and had ascended. Yet, Jesus met Paul 
in the temple and talked with him. And there 
have been increasing and immortal results from 
this meeting. One thing explains the results— 
the man in the temple saw and had a conversa¬ 
tion with Jesus. Jesus’ presence changed things. 
Christ Jesus was the matter of supreme import¬ 
ance in this meeting. 

In a modern missionary meeting of the women 
of the church the comment usually is concern- 


14 


THE SUPREME NEED 


ing the attendance and the program. Four 
women were walking from a church toward a 
car. One said, '‘Wasn’t the attendance fine to¬ 
day?” Another said, "Yes, and our circle led all 
the others.” A third remarked, "And wasn’t that 
an interesting program?” If the hour is unusu¬ 
ally good, according to present-day standards, 
one or more of these questions will quite prob¬ 
ably be heard several times. Seldom is any refer¬ 
ence made to the absence or presence of Jesus. 
And His absence or His presence determines 
everything. The matter of first concern in a 
modern missionary meeting is getting the people 
to attend and presenting a good "program.” 
These are not matters of first importance. The 
matter of first concern is the presence of Jesus. 

We cannot make one foot of progress without 
Jesus. It would be far better for only three to 
be present in the missionary meeting without 
any program at all, with Christ one of the three, 
than for the attendance to be record-breaking 
and the program to be admirably presented but 
with little evidence of the presence of the Man 
of Calvary. We may plan admirably and pre¬ 
sent admirably but if Christ is not in the meet¬ 
ing, no progress will be made. 

American churches are very seriously in need 
of that which will make their members feel the 
needs, the serious and sore needs, of those who 
are trying to make their way without the guid- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


15 


ing and the sustaining presence of their peerless 
Leader. It is seriously feared that such feeling 
is not deeply experienced in the average church 
assembly. Churches everywhere are in need of 
that which will make their members see the mil¬ 
lions who are groping in the darkness without 
light or leadership. 

Why is Tibet with scarcely one messenger of 
the Lord Jesus? Why have the churches failed 
to carry Christ to her six million? Who are re¬ 
sponsible for these not having a chance of know¬ 
ing the Friend of Sinners? Why are not at least 
one hundred of our trained young Christians 
over there? Here is the explanation: too many 
of our church people are not seeing Christ and 
are not hearing what He is saying. 

South of Tibet are Bhutan and Nepal, very 
few of whose peoples have heard the good news 
of redemption. Why have not the churches of 
Europe and America compassionately offered to 
those five million hope and life? 

Lying to the west of Nepal is Afghanistan 
with her four million and little Bokhara with 
her million and a half and these peoples have 
scarcely one messenger of the Cross. Why are 
the churches of America holding their trained 
young volunteers at home while multitudes are 
dying with no chance of knowing of the won¬ 
drous Saviour? What justifiable excuse can our 
college and university young Christians offer to 


16 


THE SUPREME NEED 


God for permitting these Afghans and Bokhar- 
ians to live and die without hearing of the re¬ 
demptive and the transforming power of the 
Man of Calvary? 

I have turned another page of my atlas and 
here before me in Southeastern Asia is a terri¬ 
tory where live more than twenty million people, 
and in this territory there is scarcely a missionary 
to be found. If some of our church people 
would come face to face with Jesus as did the 
man in the temple in Jerusalem, very soon ships 
would be carrying messengers of light and life 
into these neglected lands. The supreme and 
urgent need now is a consciousness of Christ in 
the churches. 

I have turned to another page in my atlas and 
now I am looking at the land of Livingstone and 
Stanley. In this land of such dire need, here 
where the spiritual pall is thick and black, there 
are between sixty-five and seventy-five million 
people whom the multitudes of churches in far 
more favored lands have made no attempt to 
reach and are not even contemplating any plans 
whatsoever for telling them of the Giver of 
light, life, and redemption. 

Something is seriously and alarmingly wrong 
with Christendom. To fail to say this is to back 
away from evidence, evidence which removes 
every doubt, and also to close one’s lips cowardly 
when our peerless Leader is commanding His 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


17 


messengers to cry from the housetops. The 
bringing home of our finely equipped and noble 
missionaries is one of the most pitiable spectacles 
and one of the most alarming omens of modern 
times. How long God will permit this, no one 
can know. God is not dependent upon any de¬ 
nomination. The large denominations may be 
forcing God to change His plans. There are 
large Christian bodies that are suffering serious 
losses today, and all Christian bodies that are not 
worthily engaged in carrying the message of re¬ 
demption to those who are dying in the darkness 
may find themselves dying tomorrow. 

The missionary gatherings, all the way from 
the small group meetings to the large assemblies, 
must change their emphasis. The emphasis must 
be not the program but His presence; not awards 
but an awakening; not attendance but attention 
to Him: these are some of the changes which 
must be made, and they are changes of supreme 
moment. 

This chapter is making no attempt to present 
a survey of a few of the many mission fields 
where the needs are appalling. It is attempting 
to indicate that the churches and the denomina¬ 
tions cannot make another inch of advance un¬ 
less their members recognize the presence of 
their Leader and move in the power of His fel¬ 
lowship. That is a sentence of mighty meaning 
which E. Stanley Jones speaks: 


18 


THE SUPREME NEED 


"We cannot go further until we go deeper.” 

Deeper . That is a significant word now. 
Deeper in our determination to obey the Lord 
Jesus; deeper in our fellowship with Him; deeper 
in our devotion to the work which he assigns: 
these are matters of first consideration now. 

Congregations led by choirs sing, "Fll go 
where you want me to go, dear Lord,” but the 
deportment of many who thus sing does not in¬ 
dicate that there was depth of meaning in the 
pledge to God in the singing. Not many put 
themselves with arresting attention into the re¬ 
demptive enterprise. We pray, "Thy Kingdom 
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on 
earth,” but many who make this prayer do not 
go to the most serious situations and many others 
do not make acceptable sacrifices to send mes¬ 
sengers. We must reach new depths of devotion 
before we win new victories. We cannot go 
further until we go deeper. 

A man one day went into a temple to pray. 
Christ met him and entered into a conversation. 
Quite probably the man was talking to God 
about his work. Christ took up the conversa¬ 
tion and told him what to do. The doing of 
that Christ-assigned task required serious sacri¬ 
fices. Would the man be equal to the strain and 
the test? History has answered that question. 

The churches must have more men and more 
women now who will sacrifice and never take 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


19 


their eyes from the task. It is not enough to 
sing hymns expressive of high devotion. It is 
not enough to attend church services with im¬ 
pressive regularity. It is not enough to pay 
tithes and offerings. It is not enough to evidence 
careful preparation on the missionary program. 
It is not enough to attend the hour of prayer 
and take part. This is the way of ease. The 
churches cannot advance another step without 
men and women who will come face to face 
with Jesus, listen to what He says, and then go 
in His own wondrous fellowship to the work of 
His assignment. 

God can use men and women of this type. He 
can use them at home or He can send them far 
hence where the difficulties may be greater and 
the work much harder. Such men and women 
are commissioned, and their hearts carry the awe 
of their divine appointment. The carrying out 
of their commission may send them into difficul¬ 
ties which call for far more wisdom than they 
possess but their Companion is always present to 
give both counsel and encouragement. That 
superlative commission may send them into en¬ 
terprises which demand severe sacrifices but their 
hearts are equipped with such divine determi¬ 
nation that sacrifices, when they advance their 
Christ-assigned work, are counted a joy. 

Yes, God can use men and women of this kind 
in America, Europe, Asia, or Africa. He can 


20 


THE SUPREME NEED 


and will use men and women of this kind in any 
country or community. Indeed, He will be de¬ 
lighted to use them. And such men and women 
will win imperishable victories anywhere. It is 
doubtful if God can use any other. 


Chapter III 


A SPIRITUAL RENAISSANCE—HOW? 

T HE most wonderful discovery within the 
possibilities of men and women is the dis¬ 
covery of Christ’s presence in the assembly of 
the churches on any Sunday morning or Sunday 
night. 

One of the most meaningful pronouncements 
ever made by the Man of Galilee is this amazing 
declaration: "Where two or three are gathered 
together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
them.” In every church service Christ is present 
or He is absent. If even two or three have come 
together with Christ as the center of their de¬ 
sire, He is present. If He is absent, the occasion 
for His absence is chargeable to those present. 

If He is absent, how foolish for the members 
to assemble! If the members of a church as¬ 
semble in a building erected for the definite 
purpose of worship, Christian fellowship, and 
fostering faith, and if they have not met the 
conditions for having Christ present, they cer¬ 
tainly are bordering on the worst form of hy¬ 
pocrisy. A stranger to Christianity either by 
accident or design enters a church at the hour 
of worship. The minister announces a hymn 
and the choir and congregation arise and sing: 


22 


THE SUPREME NEED 


"My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine, 

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; 

My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou; 

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. 

"I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me, 

And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree; 

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow: 

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now! 

"I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, 

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; 

And say when the death-dew lies cold on my brow, 

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.” 

The stranger muses. Enquiring thoughts get 
busy. He rightly reasons that the devotion of 
these people is nothing less than marked and 
marvelous. The singers have been expressing 
high homage to Jesus. Which one is Jesus? 
This would be quite a natural question for the 
stranger. He muses further. He is in the as¬ 
sembly because all the choir and many of the 
congregation have been speaking to him in the 
song. They have been singing, "My Jesus,” and 
"My Gracious Redeemer.” Which one is he? 
Perhaps the stranger, unacquainted with church 
manners, would be seen searching with his eyes 
through the congregation for this Jesus. 

But the indescribably lamentable fact is that 
the majority, by far the majority, who thus sing 
do not act as if they believe what they sing. If 
the members of a church congregation expected 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


23 


Christ in the service as confidently as they ex¬ 
pect a voice when they put the telephone re¬ 
ceiver to their ears, frequently there would be 
an impressive change of attitude on the part of 
the attendants. There is no mistake about what 
Christ meant. His statement is so clear that any 
one can understand it. 

"Where two or three are gathered together in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 

If the New Testament is accepted as authen¬ 
tic, then anyone who questions this statement 
questions the honor and the integrity of the 
Lord Jesus Himself. Indeed Christ may not be 
present. But what a farce the "service” would 
be if the conditions for having Jesus present 
should not be met! Evidence convincingly de¬ 
clares that there are vast numbers of church 
members who are not meeting the conditions for 
having Christ in the audience. 

There are those who attend because church 
pride prompts them. There are others who are 
in the audience because they enjoy the fellow¬ 
ship with their friends. There are others who 
are seen promptly in their pews because they are 
attracted by the music or the minister’s message. 
And there may be merit in all these motives. 
But motives of secondary or tertiary importance 
do not meet the conditions for having Christ 
present. If there is an audience of even two or 
three whose members are drawn together by 


24 


THE SUPREME NEED 


loyalty to Christ and out of a desire to know 
more fully His will and His plans, then Christ 
is also present. And a compelling sense of His 
presence in the assembly of the churches—that 
is the supreme and urgent need now. 

Scientists made almost unbelievable advances 
during the first quarter of the twentieth cen¬ 
tury. In 1903 Orville Wright flew the first 
heavier-than-air machine. The next year the 
electron tube was first used in the radio. In 
1907 the first commercial wireless message was 
sent across the Atlantic. The following year 
there was secured the first experimental evidence 
of the atomic theory. In 1909 Peary discovered 
the North Pole, and during the same year Milli¬ 
kan measured the charge of the electron. Three 
years later Amundsen made his discovery of the 
South Pole. Then in 1915 came Einstein’s theory 
of relativity. And these are only a few of the 
achievements of scientists. The continents have 
been brought closer than communities of only 
a few years ago. Science has made of the world 
one large neighborhood. 

Science has made a contribution to conven¬ 
iences and comforts but the ministry of science 
is not the urgent need of the world today. Just 
at the time when scientists are giving to hu¬ 
manity their best products there are the most 
serious and indeed the most threatening disturb- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


25 


ances in many places on our planet which have 
been experienced for many generations. 

Redemption for sinning men cannot be found 
in the radio, or in radium, or relativity. Divine 
vitality has not been found and will never be 
found in vitamines. Christian compassion will 
never be discovered in cosmic rays. Emancipa¬ 
tion for those who are severely shackled by sin 
cannot be found in the atom or electron. 

I am not attempting to discredit in the slight¬ 
est the valuable and brilliant achievements of the 
scientists who have worked worthily in their 
fields. I am contending that the cure for the 
world’s woes is to be found elsewhere. I am 
contending that the power to lift and to elevate 
and to transform can be secured only through 
contact and communion with Christ Jesus. And 
the churches of Jesus Christ are commanded to 
make known to sinning and suffering men and 
women this urgent and supreme fact. 

While the churches have achieved invaluably 
there is in vast numbers a lack of earnestness and 
zeal and power which seriously disturbs many 
who are deeply concerned to see the Lord Jesus, 
the Prince of Peace, presented to every lost man, 
woman, boy, and girl of earth. Many churches 
are suffering and suffering seriously for a renais¬ 
sance, a rebirth, a spiritual transformation. 

In this day when our churches have the finest 
buildings, the most modern furnishings, and the 


26 


THE SUPREME NEED 


largest number of "trained” workers, forty 
members are required a whole year to win one 
to membership. "Or, to put it differently, it 
takes one Christian forty years, or a life time, 
to win one convert.” 

Here before me is a Book which contains 
many inspiring stories. On one page I read that 
an Easterner had an experience one night which 
sent him immediately across a sea to tell his 
story of Christ. Very soon the story is told of 
this man’s winning a business woman and those 
associated with her to the Lord Jesus. On the 
same page I read that this man won a jailer and 
his family to the Saviour. I have now turned 
over one leaf. The historian is carrying me 
rather rapidly. This man who had crossed the 
sea for the privilege of telling about Christ has 
gone to another town. 

In this new center the man immediately be¬ 
gins telling his story and the historian makes this 
entry, "Some of them believed,” and they cast 
in their lots with this earnest stranger. Persecu¬ 
tion pushes the man out of town but it cannot 
silence his message. 

Here he is in another town, and the historian 
makes this record: "Many of them therefore be¬ 
lieved; also of the Greek women of honorable 
estate, and of the men not a few.” I have 
turned to another page and find that this man 
of such gripping earnestness is in the educational 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


27 


and cultural center of the world. Here he faces 
a cold, critical, and cynical crowd. But there 
was something in his heart which made him in¬ 
vincible, and the historian has this interesting 
entry, ''Certain men clave unto him and be¬ 
lieved.” Out of the severely critical crowd he 
won both a hearing and a deathless loyalty to 
the Lord Jesus. The historian takes me imme¬ 
diately to another city. 

Now the Easterner is in a commercial metrop¬ 
olis of wealth and wickedness. Each has been 
and still is a serious problem for Christian work¬ 
ers. In this city which presented to the Asiatic 
problems enough to discourage and defeat many 
another, the crusader for Christ was not without 
a victory. I find this entry, "And Crispus, the 
ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with 
all his house, and many of the Corinthians hear¬ 
ing believed and were baptized.” 

Since leaving the coast town of Asia the his¬ 
torian has directed me to five distinct stops 
where the Asiatic gave himself with marked 
earnestness to the proclaiming of his story con¬ 
cerning the Man of Galilee. He made these five 
stops quite probably within a period of a few 
weeks. The number of those won to Christ is 
not given. Modern churches are suffering losses, 
serious losses, by placing undue emphasis on 
numbers. Counting numbers and playing them 
up in the papers may be a very trifling business. 


28 


THE SUPREME NEED 


However, when numbers are given to indicate 
the matchless work of redemption in human 
lives, numbers have imperishable significance. 
In these five European engagements the evidence 
indicates that scores were won to Christ. Now 
the moment has come for some serious compari¬ 
sons and some serious thinking. 

In modern churches with modern equipment 
forty members a year win only one new member. 

One modern church member requires forty 
years to win one new church member. 

An Easterner with no churches in which to 
work and with no organizations to reenforce 
him pressed his way into unknown towns and 
cities, contended with difficulties and perilous 
opposition, and won scores to Christ within a 
few weeks. There is a striking difference in this 
Easterner and most modern church members. 
By far the most urgent need of the churches 
today is that their members possess just what the 
Asiatic possessed. 

And the pivotal need of the churches is in 
their pulpits. Let the ministers meet the con¬ 
ditions for a spiritual renaissance and marked 
changes will be immediately observed in very 
much of the pulpit ministry. When the com¬ 
passion of Christ burns in the soul of the man 
in the pulpit, his message carries compassion to 
disturbed and sorely pressed hearts in the pews. 
Then there will be those in the pews who will 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


29 


discover that a new concern is developing in 
their hearts. This concern will grow into com¬ 
passion and this compassion will express itself in 
living and thinking and doing which will con¬ 
vince and compel and capture hearts for the 
Man of Calvary. 

Recently a long drouth disturbingly reduced 
our city’s supply of water. That which re¬ 
mained became quite unsatisfactory. Citizens 
complained of the taste and of the results of 
using the water. What was needed was a fresh 
supply from God’s clouds filtered through God’s 
atmosphere. The clouds came and brought from 
distant streams and lakes abundant supplies of 
water, and the quality of the city water was 
changed and the complaining ceased. 

Christ’s presence will change the condition of 
the churches and change the condition immedi¬ 
ately. "There am I in the midst of them” and 
that is where He delights to be. When the 
members of a congregation open their hearts to 
Him and experience the depths of fellowship 
with Him, the impure thoughts must go and the 
unworthy purposes are dropped. In His pres¬ 
ence the noble takes the place of the ignoble; 
the pure, of the impure; the worthy, of the 
unworthy; the high, of the low. Conditions 
change when He is welcomed. 

His presence will make the languishing church, 
the dying church, a living witness with influence 


30 


THE SUPREME NEED 


which will carry healing and health to those who 
are sorely afflicted. Christ’s presence among His 
people will give to every member a story, and the 
highest joy will be found in telling that story. 
The consciousness of His presence and the power 
experienced in the secrets of His fellowship will 
completely change the purpose of life and make 
all sacrifices necessary to the realization of that 
purpose a sustaining joy. 

When Christ’s presence is realized by the 
members of the congregations, the churches will 
hold the confidence of the communities and the 
cities. When Christ is welcomed by the mem¬ 
bers of the churches and His presence is experi¬ 
enced, the attendants will carry from the service 
a new story, and Christ will be the heart of that 
story. Every attendant will be a witness and a 
herald. 

The churches in whose services Christ is wel¬ 
comed and His presence is realized will ex¬ 
perience perpetual growth; will send forth light 
to the places of darkness; will send messengers 
of hope to the hopeless; and will give heralds 
of freedom to those who are in slavery. The 
churches that experience the transforming power 
of Christ’s presence in their assemblies will be 
invincible in the work of world redemption. 


Chapter IV 


THE FORGOTTEN HEART OF THE 


COMMISSION 



MAN who has traveled much in the in- 


jT\ terest of Christian work and, in addition 
to his opportunity for very extended observa¬ 
tion, has held positions with large churches in his 
denomination, was giving to me his appraisement 
of the churches in a large southern city. Re¬ 
ferring to a particular church, he said, "That’s 
the only church in the city with a program.” 

Apparently he thought that a program is the 
essential thing. That is the world’s way of esti¬ 
mating many institutions. And while my ac¬ 
quaintance may be a valuable Christian, he has 
caught the spirit of the world. Indeed many 
churches have gone over to the world’s way of 
doing things. A program, a plan for carrying 
forward the work of winning the lost and fos¬ 
tering Christian growth, is both valuable and 
necessary. I follow with strict application a 
program in my own work, and no church can 
work intelligently and effectively without a 
worthy program. However, when the average 
church enthusiast speaks about a program his 
thoughts may not reach very deeply into the 
things which concerned Christ supremely. The 


32 


THE SUPREME NEED 


things which tugged at His heart as He said to 
His disciples, "Go,” are concerning Him deeply 
now. 

A man of large business interests sat with me 
at a late hour one night talking about the su¬ 
preme need of the churches. His church has a 
house finely finished and attractively furnished. 
And this business man is an officer in his church. 
As the conversation went deeper into the needs 
of millions today, my acquaintance said, "I stood 
at the door of my church tonight and cried, ac¬ 
tually cried.” And why was this business man 
who daily carries large and heavy responsibilities 
so deeply moved? He was thinking about what 
the churches could do if only they were ready 
for their Christ-assigned commission. The su¬ 
premely important matter today, just as it has 
always been, is not a program but a Presence. 

In a retreat with His disciples the Man of Cal¬ 
vary spoke the deep passion of His heart when 
He said, "Go ye . . . and make disciples.” 

Here our Saviour, our Lord, our Leader, clearly 
assigns to His friends the work to be done; the 
work for which he had died; the work to which 
He is now giving Himself; the work which must 
supremely engage every close and devoted dis¬ 
ciple of His. 

The work of disciple-making is vitally related 
to that pivotal experience and achievement of 
God’s Son upon the cross. No holier task was ever 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


33 


assigned to any man or any woman. The con¬ 
gregations that assemble week by week or month 
by month will never take Christ seriously until 
they see the emphasis which He placed upon the 
commission and until they come into possession 
of a compelling, divine urge. 

Houses of worship are necessary for the pro¬ 
tection and the comfort of the church attend¬ 
ants but Christ made no direct reference to them 
in His commission. Departmentalized and graded 
methods are valuable expressions of the tech¬ 
nique of teaching and training, but Christ made 
no specific of these in His commission. Certainly 
church people have come to believe that an order 
of service is of serious moment in the hour of 
worship but to this Christ made not the slightest 
reference in this holy hour when He said to His 
disciples, "Go ye . . . and make disciples.” 

Now a word must be said which is not popular 
but it is imperative and here it is, for the sake 
of the work for which Christ gave all: the aver¬ 
age active church member is giving considerable 
attention to some of the incidentals but he is 
leaving out the heart, the very heart, of the 
Lord’s destiny-determining commission. 

By far the great majority of ministers, teach¬ 
ers, and leaders in the training departments of the 
churches need to search deeply into the mean¬ 
ing which the Founder of the churches put into 
the word "disciple.” A disciple is one who puts 


34 


THE SUPREME NEED 


his feet in the tracks of earth’s peerless Man and 
follows Him in the most daring venture known 
to the heart of man. A disciple is one who ac¬ 
cepts the teaching of Him who taught as no 
other ever taught. Careless handling of the 
Word has robbed it of much of the wealth and 
worth of its meaning in the thinking of most 
people. A disciple is one whose deportment gives 
unmistakable and compelling evidence of the 
power which has immortalized Calvary. 

A passion for numbers has become a disease 
which is doing serious harm in the work of the 
kingdom. This passion for numbers in the 
Sunday schools, the training organizations, the 
additions to the churches, is being felt every¬ 
where. Indeed any worthy disciple desires and 
deeply desires that the elevating and ennobling 
message of Jesus shall be heard by the largest 
numbers possible. This is a worthy desire. But 
the passion for numbers is working serious harm 
in many churches. 

There are vast numbers in the churches today 
who give no convincing evidence of discipleship. 
More than two million new members have been 
received into the churches of one Christian body 
in the States during the last ten years. If all the 
two million had experienced regeneration and 
had been trained in the fine art of discipleship, 
they alone would now be making an impact, 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


35 


and a powerful impact, upon the non-Christian 
world. 

Facing on Franklin Place is a church with 
a membership of two thousand five hundred 
seventy. More than fourteen hundred attend 
the departments and the classes of the school 
every Sunday. In the training department every 
Sunday night are three hundred, and sometimes 
more, young people. Over a period of five years 
more than four hundred have been baptized into 
the fellowship of this unusual church. The con¬ 
gregation has a beautiful building and one ad¬ 
mirably designed and equipped for the work 
which is being done. The indebtedness on the 
plant is only two hundred ten thousand dollars. 
The interest obligation, however, would keep 
fifteen missionaries in places where there are no 
magnificent church buildings and where the 
name of Christ has scarcely been heard. The 
church is able to carry forward the work with 
only five full-time paid workers. Beyond ques¬ 
tion this church is doing a valuable service for 
the city, the state, and the world. 

But what might be accomplished if the two 
thousand five hundred seventy were all disciples? 
What might be accomplished if half of them 
were disciples? If twelve hundred eighty-five 
were to leave that church facing on Franklin 
Place any Sunday morning and go forth with 
the unconquerable urge of Christ in their hearts 


36 


THE SUPREME NEED 


and with unshaken determination to live out the 
teachings of the Man of Calvary, they would 
immediately produce the greatest sensation the 
city ever experienced and they would make an 
impact upon the city and the state which would 
be felt to the ends of earth. 

I am not attempting to depreciate the im¬ 
portance of buildings and equipment which the 
work of Christ demands, nor am I depreciating 
the importance of workers who are giving their 
full time to the work of Christ’s kingdom in 
secretarial or other activities. However, I am 
contending that many of our churches are suf¬ 
fering from debility, many seriously and sorely 
suffering, and some sick unto death because em¬ 
phasis has been placed on a program rather than 
on a Person and a Presence. 

An Asiatic entered a city in which wicked¬ 
ness was debasing, degrading, and debauching 
the men, women, and children. He entered 
alone. No friend was there to welcome him. 
He entered without friends but he had a Friend. 
There was no capital behind him but there was 
a Comrade with him. He had no salary but he 
had a Saviour. He had no elaborate program 
but he had a sustaining and inspiring Presence. 
In the midst of opposition which otherwise 
would have crushed this daring Asiatic, his 
Comrade spoke, "Be not afraid, but speak and 
hold not thy peace: for I am with thee.” And 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


37 


the Asiatic was invincible. In the midst of 
wickedness he won a mighty victory for right¬ 
eousness. 

When the Man of Calvary gave His incom¬ 
parable commission on that Galilean mountain, 
"Go ye, therefore, and make disciples,” He also 
gave a promise which is worth infinitely more 
to the disciples of Jesus than all the money of 
Christendom. There has been much going of 
one kind and another by His disciples and there 
is much going today but there is but little being 
said about the greatest possession which any dis¬ 
ciple can have, "Lo, I am with you always.” 
Here is the supremely urgent need of the 
churches around the world today—a clear, con¬ 
scious, compelling realization that Jesus meant 
exactly what He said and that He is available 
for every disciple in every kind of experience. 

Why have God-called ministers so often failed 
to proclaim this incomparable evangel? Why 
have the teachers of God’s imperishable Word 
said so little about the possible presence of Christ 
for every church member around the world? 
The second coming of the Lord Jesus has had 
considerable place in Bible conferences, in pulpit 
ministry, and in Bible teaching. Indeed this is 
one of the greatest of the hopes entertained by 
many of His followers. That is a wonderful 
evangel for the future. But here is an inde- 


38 


THE SUPREME NEED 


scribably great evangel for the present, "Lo, I 
am with you always.” 

Multitudes who claim to be His disciples have 
never had or have lost the power of this gospel, 
"Lo, I am with you.” The power of this evangel 
would bring back to vigorous life many dying 
churches. The power of this evangel would put 
hope and heart into almost countless numbers 
who have grown faint in the contest of life. 
Here is a brief chapter from the life of one of 
the greatest men of the centuries. 

David Livingstone has been in Africa sixteen 
years. During the sixteen years he has passed 
through many severe and threatening hours. 
Perhaps he has never been in such grave peril as 
now. Infuriated savages have surrounded him. 
He is looking death in the face. He is tempted 
to try to make his escape under cover of dark¬ 
ness. Here is what one may find in his journal: 

"January 14, 1856. Evening. Felt much 
turmoil of spirit in prospect of having all my 
plans for the welfare of this great region and 
this teeming population knocked on the head 
by savages tomorrow. But I read that Jesus said: 
'All power is given unto Me in heaven and in 
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end 
of the world.’ It is the word of a gentleman of 
the most strict and sacred honour, so there’s an 
end of it! I will not cross furtively tonight as 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


39 


I intended. Should such a man as I flee? Nay, 
verily, I shall take observations for latitude and 
longitude tonight, though they may be the last. 
I feel quite calm now, thank God!” 

One will find underlined in Livingstone’s jour¬ 
nal these words, "Lo, I am with you always, even 
unto the end of the world.” Who doubts for 
a moment that this mighty messenger of the 
land of deepest darkness, meditating upon this 
evangel "for the thousandth time,” became won- 
drously supported by the presence of Him who 
said, "Lo, I am with you?” 

Let the friends of righteousness and redemp¬ 
tion and the Redeemer retire to their chambers 
of meditation and communion and there sanely 
and seriously ask this question: what would a 
worthy presentation of this evangel, "Lo, I am 
with you,” do for the disciples of the Prince of 
Peace and His churches everywhere? If the fol¬ 
lowers of the Man of Calvary accept fully His 
promise, and advance in the power of His pres¬ 
ence, what changes would be observed? 

Many, very many, ministers would come be¬ 
fore their congregations with new messages. 
There would be a sublime certainty in their tes¬ 
timony and a new power in their proclamation. 
Many teachers of the wondrous Word of Life 
in the Sunday school, the college, and the theo¬ 
logical seminary would come before their classes 
with a new fervor in their faces and with an 


40 


THE SUPREME NEED 


earnestness never evidenced before. There would 
be something far more valuable than the teach¬ 
ing of languages; there would be the presentation 
of life. There would be something of greater 
importance than the study of comparative re¬ 
ligions; there would be realized the presence of 
the Comrade Himself. What might be expected 
of those who do not minister in the pulpit or 
the class room? 

These groups of disciples would carry into the 
factory, the foundry, the office, the store, the 
shop; they would carry everywhere the duties 
of the day directed their feet unmistakable evi¬ 
dence of power to emancipate and elevate. A 
love for the less fortunate would express itself 
in every relation. Men and women would evi¬ 
dence far less interest in profits and far more 
concern in people. Men and women would be¬ 
come far less interested in the size of the divi¬ 
dend and far more keenly concerned about the 
development of the Divine in those whose lives 
they influenced. Christ came to help men and 
women out of death into life, abundant life, 
and He is still engaged in this superlative en¬ 
terprise. And this is the supremely important 
assignment for His disciples this day. But what 
are many of the members of His churches doing? 
With many there is no winsome power radiating 
from their presence when every contact should 
convey the influence of their evangel. Many are 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


41 


silent concerning their possession when they 
should be expressing through every relation the 
matchless character of the Man of Calvary. Out 
of His incomparable concern and compassion 
Jesus said, "Go ye therefore and make disciples 
and lo, I am with you.” 

Quite probably fewer than five percent of 
the members of churches are making any direct 
effort to win disciples to the Lord Jesus. The 
great majority of those who attend the services 
with worthy regularity seem content to be pres¬ 
ent and to contribute to the support of their 
churches. And all the while there are many, 
many millions who have scarcely heard of the 
One who alone can lift them out of their pov¬ 
erty into wealth, out of their darkness into light, 
and out of death into life. Vast numbers of 
churches and many more church members are 
seriously in need of a power which they ire not 
evidencing. 

What will awake and arouse the sleeping and 
the sluggish churches? What will transform an 
ordinary church member into a fervent herald 
of the matchless story? What will make men 
and women sacrifice to the point of suffering 
and yet in their sacrifice find joy? What will 
make of every man and every woman who have 
accepted Christ as their Saviour living letters 
filled with compelling testimony? What will 
equip the churches with courage and compassion 


42 


THE SUPREME NEED 


which will make them invincible in the work 
which is so urgently important? The answer to 
these questions is found in words from the heart 
of Jesus to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you.” 

The disciple who lives in the consciousness 
that Jesus meant just what He said in this pro¬ 
nouncement will live nobly, impressively, and 
triumphantly. He or she will be a living mes¬ 
sage capturing the attention of those who know 
not the Son of God. The churches that experi¬ 
ence and proclaim this mighty evangel, whose 
members move in the consciousness that their 
Lord and Leader is daily doing what He said in 
this promise, "Lo, I am with you,” such churches 
will get the attention of the community or the 
city, and from such churches there will go with¬ 
out strain or effort an influence which will carry 
healing and transforming power to every life 
within their reach. When the churches pro¬ 
claim this gospel, "Lo, I am with you,” out of 
the power of Christ’s presence, they will be 
equipped, sufficiently equipped, for carrying the 
message of light and life to the ends of the earth. 


Chapter V 


OUT OF FEAR INTO FEARLESSNESS 

F OR years I have quoted from memory the 
beautiful, inspiring, and heartening twenty- 
third psalm. One morning last week as I sat in 
a convention there came to me a deeper message 
out of the psalm than I had ever seen or had ever 
heard expressed, and the message came quite un¬ 
expectedly. 

This message the churches seriously need in 
these testing, trying, and turbulent days. This 
message which the psalm possesses would give 
the finest equipment to the members of Christ’s 
churches everywhere. It is greatly needed by all 
people in all life’s experiences. 

I have just come from a home where a woman 
of lovely character and unusual opportunities 
has just passed into the land beyond the sunset. 
On a previous visit a member of the family, in 
soft and gentle words, told me that she was un¬ 
conscious and then added, “We think it best that 
she is this way for when she is conscious she 
realizes her condition and cries.” Did she fear 
death? Most people do. 

“I will fear no evil” declares this Asiatic. 
Quite probably he had experienced many, many 
times the dreadful attacks of fear. Fie had lived 


44 


THE SUPREME NEED 


the life of an exile; he had been an outlaw; he 
had gone into evil ways and had been guilty of 
sins which were horrible; he had been hunted 
like a wild beast which had killed the lambs of 
a flock; he had been rebelled against by his own 
son; he had received news of that son’s death in 
battle. Doubtless he had been besieged and as¬ 
saulted by fear again and again. Fear is a sub¬ 
ject of serious importance. Nearly everybody 
has been assailed and most people have been as¬ 
sailed again and again by fear. 

Less than thirty-six hours ago, far into the 
night, a man called to see me and laid before me 
his feelings as only a few do. This man is a 
noble Christian and has received an income far 
above the average for a number of years. Just 
now he is facing a change in his plans and he 
feels uncertain about the future. As he sat by 
my side he declared, "There are times when I can 
see my children being kept out of school and my 
family facing starvation.” During recent years 
he has felt secure in his income but now with 
uncertainty before him, fear is on his heels. I 
doubt not that at times fear drives away sleep 
and makes many of his moments miserable. 
What message has this Easterner for him? What 
message has God for him in this psalm? Fear is 
one of the most terrible enemies of men and 
women. 

There are those who have offered themselves 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


45 


for office who fear defeat. There are business 
men who fear that their business will fail. There 
are millions of men and women who are produc¬ 
ing the commodities for the people of earth who 
fear that they will lose their positions and suffer 
for want of income. At this time there are 
millions of Asiatics, Europeans, Africans, and 
Americans who are looking into the future with 
uncertainty and who are being hounded by fear. 
There are multitudes moving along life’s high¬ 
ways smiling as they touch elbows with other 
travelers, and yet they are carrying fear in their 
hearts. 

The man who can stand up, speak out of his 
own experience, and declare, *T will fear no 
evil,” has a message of marvelous moment for 
multitudes of Asiatics, Europeans, Islanders, 
Africans, and Americans. This man has a mes¬ 
sage for the armies of youth as they are getting 
ready to take their places in world affairs. This 
man who is speaking for God has a message 
which the professional and business men of earth 
should hear. He is speaking a message which 
parents should receive with keenest interest. 
Here is a message for Christian people of all 
creeds and of all lands. What is the source of 
the psalmist’s assurance? 

Beyond a doubt this Easterner who has made 
an imperishable and invaluable contribution to 
humanity had been sorely afflicted with fear but 


46 


THE SUPREME NEED 


he declares that he has learned the way of vic¬ 
tory. Any man who can tell the world how to 
conquer fear has a message for millions. In the 
libraries one can find many, many volumes deal¬ 
ing with fear and how fear may be conquered. 
Here are a few sentences from the opening chap¬ 
ter of one of the best books which I have read 
dealing with the conquest of fear: 

"When I say that during most of my con¬ 
scious life I have been a prey to fears I take it 
for granted that I am expressing the case of the 
majority of people. . . . Fear dogs one of 

us in one way and another in another, but every 
one in some way. . . . There is not a home 

or an office or a factory or a school or a church 
in which some hang-dog apprehension is not eat¬ 
ing at the hearts of the men, women, and chil¬ 
dren who go in and out.” 

I declare unhesitatingly that I find more help 
in this short psalm of six verses made up of one 
hundred seventeen words in dealing with this 
monster, than I have found in all the books deal¬ 
ing with the mastery of fear. The motif in the 
message is strikingly evident from the opening 
phrase. The motif is faith in the love and the 
care of God. During the first three verses the 
inspired spokesman is speaking of God in the 
third person. Mark carefully his words: 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


47 


"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; 

He leadeth me beside the still waters. 

He restoreth my soul: 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s 
sake.” 

There is commanding confidence in every 
utterance. There is asserting assurance in every 
word. In the fourth verse this spokesman for 
God suddenly changes from the third person to 
the second. God’s presence becomes real to him 
and he reaches heights of commanding assurance, 
and declares: 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil.” 

And here he gives the secret of his confidence. 
He shows to all who are anxious to know the 
source of his assurance the reason for his testi¬ 
mony. In five words and each a monosyllable 
he gives to the vast multitudes of earth who have 
been and are afflicted and severely assaulted by 
fear the secret of victory. Certainly there was 
turmoil then; certainly there were turbulent seas 
over which men must steer their vessels on life’s 
unexplored voyage; certainly there were storms 
which would overtake the prilgrims and beat 
upon them in fearful fury. But here is a man 
who speaks out of a heart of assurance a mes¬ 
sage of assurance to men and women whose 


48 


THE SUPREME NEED 


hearts are almost fainting under the affliction of 
fear. What is the ground for his assurance? 
What is the source of his calmness and courage? 
He tells us in five short words. With the noblest 
thoughts on duty and with hearts adorned with 
humility those who are concerned in the eman¬ 
cipation of humanity and who are ready to 
measure their strength in the world-wide work 
of redemption should spend time, much time, 
in the matchless experience indicated in the 
psalmist’s words: 

'Tor thou art with me.” 

That is the source of his assurance. Here is 
the secret of his emancipation. As he writes 
about the wonder and the wealth of God’s care 
and protection the Lord’s presence becomes real 
to him and he boldly declares, “I will fear no 
evil.” He was conscious of God’s care but he 
became conscious of God’s presence. Then he 
ceases talking about God and talks to God. 

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy 
rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 

A Presence—that’s the greatest need of Chris¬ 
tendom today. It is one thing to talk about God 
and quite another to talk to God. His presence 
gives perfect protection. His presence possesses 
power. Christian men and women cannot put 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


49 


their hands to the redemptive task without 
power. They may have the most perfect pro¬ 
ductions which church architects can give; they 
may have the best methods in all departments 
which the students of methods can devise; they 
may resort to the newest and the most unique 
devices to spur action: all these, as valuable as 
they may be made, can never set forward one 
inch the work of the kingdom. "Pep” in many 
instances has been substituted for power. Too 
often far more has been said about a program 
than about a Presence. 

A program which is a product of prayer 
should be accepted and followed in every church 
in the world. Earnestness and enthusiasm which 
are born and fostered in fellowship with Christ 
should be experienced in every redeemed life. 
However, the most careful observers realize that 
there has been in many churches a swing toward 
programs and "pep” and away from power and a 
Presence. And this swing has been indeed a 
deadly swing for many churches. 

Churches everywhere are in the midst of evils, 
and are facing difficulties. The most serious dif¬ 
ficulty, the only one which can retard their 
progress, is within. A very careful observer, 
after spending seventeen months in Europe, 
comes back with the conviction that the Christ 
of Europe is a concealed Christ. His report is 
that the churches are not giving evidence of 


50 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Christ’s transforming presence and His elevating 
power. Communism, Fascism, and Militarism 
are perplexing problems for the Christian forces 
of Europe.* 

What are some of the difficulties which the 
churches of America are facing? One large de¬ 
nomination reports that fifty-seven percent of 
its members are giving nothing to any Christian 
enterprise. There are thousands who are being 
called upon to teach the greatest Book which 
earth has known who have never had the privi¬ 
lege of one hour of Bible study under a capable 
teacher and who have done but little careful 
study at home. The average church official 
never makes an effort to lead a lost person to 
Christ. Certainly there are church officials who 
have inspiring records in personal achievements 
in turning the lost to the Saviour, and yet by 
far the majority quite probably never make an 
effort in personal testimony. What can lift the 
churches out of the lethargy in which many find 
themselves today and endow them with a power 
which will make them invincible? 

And let no one doubt for even a moment that 
this condition of life is Christ’s ideal for every 
one of His churches. Every church should be 
sending out redemptive influence into every part 
of the community or city and sending out this 


*Dr. H. W. Tribble in Seminary News, No. 2, Vol. III. 



OF THE WORLD TODAY 


51 


influence constantly. The church that is failing 
to do just this is falling below her privilege and 
below her Lord’s ideal. The churches should be 
sending out more than arresting and awakening 
and transforming influence. The members of 
every church should be so endowed with con¬ 
cern and compassion for the lost that they would 
give their testimony wherever they go. 

A weakness, a weakness which is serious be¬ 
yond understanding, in many churches is the 
lack of concern on the part of many of the 
members and sometimes on the part of the 
minister which will urge them forth in search 
for those whose feet are carrying them toward 
certain destruction and death. In the average 
American church there are but very few un¬ 
saved non-church members in either the morn¬ 
ing or the night congregations. The lost of the 
communities and the cities are not hearing the 
gospel. The great majority of our churches in 
this country are not sufficiently endowed with 
the deathless concern of Christ to make a de¬ 
termined and sustained effort for the lost of our 
communities and cities. This is the most serious 
evil which the churches are meeting today. 

But the atmosphere of many churches can be 
changed. Here is a man who speaks out and 
says, "I will fear no evil,” and then gives as his 
reason, "for thou art with me.” God’s presence 
is the source of inspiration, the source of 


52 


THE SUPREME NEED 


strength, the source of courage, and the source 
of compassion. 

The churches need to make a new discovery 
—the discovery of the Lord’s presence among 
His people. His presence will banish the little 
differences which work injury. His presence 
will give assurance in the face of all kinds of 
evils. His presence changes the appearance of 
things which produce fear. His presence will 
warm the hearts which hold to the frozen assets 
and make sacrifice a joy. When His presence is 
realized in the churches and by the individuals 
who make up the churches, the funds will flow 
into the treasuries of the kingdom and increasing 
numbers of messengers will be released for the 
lands where spiritual darkness reigns. His pres¬ 
ence will give concern for those who are lost and 
impel the saved to go in search of those who are 
in peril. 

e T will fear no evil for Thou art with me.” 
Wonderful testimony! Yes, His presence eman¬ 
cipates. His presence—that is the greatest need 
of many churches and of multitudes of church 
members today. That is the most urgent need 
of many a minister’s study. 

A Presence—that is the most urgent need now. 
That will change everything which needs chang¬ 
ing. There can be no lack of concern where His 
presence is realized. There will be joy; there 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


53 


will be an experience; there will be a readiness 
to sacrifice; there will be a matchless story 
wherever He is welcomed and realized. A Pres¬ 
ence, His presence—that is the urgent and su¬ 
preme need of the hour. 


Chapter VI 


CHRIST LEADS OUT OF THREATENING 
DISASTER 


M ANY churches seem to have lost their 
most valuable possession. If they have 
lost this possession, certainly they will never be 
able to do their work until they find it. 

Other institutions may carry on with other 
means, but the churches of Jesus Christ cannot 
do their work, according to the plan and the 
purpose of the Leader, without perpetual in¬ 
spiration and perpetual power. The churches, 
certainly multitudes of them, need and seriously 
need to find Him who alone can give this equip¬ 
ment. 

There are many church people who sing about 
the presence of Jesus, read or hear others read 
about His presence, pray or hear others pray 
about His presence, and repeat creeds about His 
presence but who, apparently, never really ex¬ 
perience His presence. The reverent study of 
one man’s experience should convince all who 
are searching for the inspiration and the power 
which they so much need. 

Christ is the light for life’s perplexities. How 
different will be the experiences of countless 
thousands when this truth is fully realized! 


THE SUPREME NEED 


55 


Here is an Asiatic who has been assaulted by 
a mob in an Eastern city. A Roman officer 
rescues the man from death. He is brought 
before the court and is given the privilege of 
presenting his case. Quite soon the court is in 
turmoil and the Roman official rescues the 
Asiatic again. The court is the Jewish San¬ 
hedrin and the Asiatic is Saul of Tarsus. Saul 
has made his defense before the mob and he has 
made it before the court but the deadly deter¬ 
mination of his enemies grows more deadly. 
Who is left to whom he can make an appeal for 
justice, for protection, for light, and for lead¬ 
ing? A mob with death in the hearts of its 
members is forming on the street, and the mob 
will ask the court to aid it in intriguing Paul 
into their death plot. And here is a wonderful 
statement in the midst of the story: 

"And the night following the Lord stood by 
him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hast 
testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so thou 
must bear witness also at Rome.” 

Think of the feeling which must have filled 
the heart of Paul that night. One can easily 
imagine that his spirit was harassed. Quite 
probably there were perplexing problems which 
pressed upon him. Would he be taken from the 
prison and killed? Would he have the privilege 
of giving his testimony in Rome? Would he 
ever have the privilege of writing other mes- 


56 


THE SUPREME NEED 


sages? Would he have the opportunity of tell¬ 
ing others what Christ had done for him? The 
man against whom a murderous plot was form¬ 
ing discovered again that which every Christian 
of earth needs to know—that Christ is available; 
that Christ’s presence brings light upon all of 
life’s perplexities. 

If the mob that dragged him from the temple 
had succeeded in killing the incomparable cru¬ 
sader, or if the Sanhedrin had silenced him for¬ 
ever, or if the mob that formed on the street 
and took an oath that they would neither eat 
nor drink until they had killed him had suc¬ 
ceeded, the world would have suffered irrep¬ 
arable losses. 

The third group of Paul’s letters would never 
have been written. The letters to the Philip- 
pians, Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians — 
messages which deal chiefly with the person and 
the power of the Lord Jesus—would never have 
been written. But these letters do not constitute 
the full loss which the world would have suf¬ 
fered. The fourth group of Paul’s letters would 
never have been given to the world. The letter 
to Titus and the two letters to Timothy would 
not be available. But Christ was deeply con¬ 
cerned about His servant and He was present in 
the tower of Antonia. 

We have come upon a day in our church life 
when the care and the concern of Christ are 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


57 


poorly appreciated. Christ cared enough for 
this crusader of His to be with him that night 
in the castle in Jerusalem. This marvelous mes¬ 
senger, this incomparable crusader, this sacri¬ 
ficial servant, this peerless pioneer, was giving 
his best to the redemptive enterprise; and the 
Son of God, King Immanuel, the Prince of 
Peace, gave His presence to the man who was 
giving the full force of his strength. A hard 
place on the journey was entered. Doubtless 
there was severe suffering of spirit. To those 
who did not know of the presence and the power 
of Christ it looked as though the life of this 
mighty herald would be ended and ended vi¬ 
ciously. 

But the Lord Jesus was present. The tower 
of Antonia never had such a Visitor before. The 
castle never contained one previous to this hour 
like Him who entered and spoke His inspiriting 
and healing words that night. Jesus had said, 
said clearly, said unmistakably: "Go ye there¬ 
fore, and make disciples of all the nations 
. . . and lo, I am with you all the days,” 

and again this crusader of the Cross discovered 
that Christ meant what He said, that He could 
be depended upon in any hour of test or trial. 

The churches have no need today comparable 
to their need of a return to Christ and entering 
into their matchless heritage—the consciousness 
of His presence. If Christ came to an Asiatic 


58 


THE SUPREME NEED 


when he was putting his very self into the re¬ 
demptive effort, why will He not come to an 
American when he puts his very self into the 
same effort? Certainly He is just as ready to 
accompany a European, an African, an Indian, 
a Chinese, an American, or any other individual 
from any land who will measure his strength in 
the redemptive cause as He was to move by the 
side of this earnest, enthusiastic, sacrificing, peer¬ 
less Asiatic. And He will delight to make His 
presence felt in the churches increasingly when 
the members of the churches present the atti¬ 
tude which will make His presence possible. 

Choirs and congregations sing: 

“He leadeth me! O blessed thought! 

O words with heav’nly comfort fraught! 
What-e’er I do, wher-e’er I be, 

Still *tis God’s hand that leadeth me.” 

And we sing as if there were always a beau¬ 
tiful and sustaining fellowship. We sing as if 
Christ’s presence were just as real as the presence 
of the air or the presence of a comrade in the 
car by our side. And I am convinced that His 
presence is real to some and His presence is the 
only explanation of the strength of their gentle¬ 
ness, their endurance, their courage, and their 
compassion. Choirs and congregations sing that 
great, enduring hymn of Charles Wesley: 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


59 


"Jesus, Lover of my soul, 

Let me to Thy bosom fly, 

While the nearer waters roll, 

While the tempest still is high! 

Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, 

Till the storms of life are past; 

Safe into the haven guide, 

O receive my soul at last. 

> 5 - * * 

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want; 

More than all in Thee I find: 

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, 

Heal the sick and lead the blind. 

Just and holy is Thy name, 

I am all unrighteousness; 

False, and full of sin I am, 

Thou art full of truth and grace.” 

Was Christ real to Charles Wesley when he 
was writing this hymn? In this hymn Wesley sees 
in Christ a safe Protector from a beating storm; 
a mighty Helper for those who have fallen be¬ 
neath their burdens; a safe and certain Physician 
for those who are faint with sickness; a depend¬ 
able Leader for those who are feeling their way 
in blindness. Every line expresses the feeling 
that Christ is just as real as a friend standing 
before him. Quite probably the secret of the 
life and the power of the hymn is found in the 
presence of Jesus which the writer experienced. 
Blind but immortal Fanny Crosby writes: 


60 


THE SUPREME NEED 


"Jesus, keep me near the cross, 

There a precious fountain, 

Free to all, a healing stream, 

Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.’* 

And the writer is talking to Jesus. Was Christ 
real to this marvelous Christian woman? Did 
she mean what she said when she wrote, "Jesus, 
keep me near the cross?” Do not this and other 
hymns present the evidence that Christ was quite 
real and quite present with her? 

When church people sing of the presence of 
Jesus, do they mean what they say or are they 
just singing? In the lines from Fanny Crosby 
one hears her speaking to Jesus about a matter 
of tremendous importance, and she is speaking 
as if Jesus and she were in intimate conversation. 
Did she mean what she said? Who would doubt 
for a moment that she did? In the lines from 
Charles Wesley one hears him speaking to Jesus 
as if he and Christ were brought together by a 
great cause in which both were deeply inter¬ 
ested, and Wesley is presenting his heart’s deep 
needs to his incomparable Friend. Who doubts 
that Christ was very real to Charles Wesley? 

Is Christ available today for those who are 
giving themselves to the mighty and the match¬ 
less work of world redemption? If He is not, 
then men and women cannot accept the clear 
teaching of God’s Word. If He is available, 
then multitudes are failing to use their mightiest 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


61 


resources. What is the testimony concerning 
this Asiatic whose life has so profoundly influ¬ 
enced millions and whose influence continues, 
without loss of power, down through the cen¬ 
turies? 

"And the night following the Lord stood by 
him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou 
hast testified concerning me at Jerusalem, so 
must thou bear witness also at Rome.” 

"And the night following the Lord stood by 
him,” and Christ was available in one of the 
severest hours a man ever entered. Only a few 
hours before, Paul had been face to face with 
death. He had explained his experience to those 
who were attempting to kill him. He had ex¬ 
plained his position and his work to the court. 
Opposition had become so deadly that a mob was 
forming and those joining the mob were taking 
an oath that they would neither eat nor drink 
until they had killed Paul. The divinely in¬ 
spired historian says: "The Lord stood by him,” 
and the Lord came with a message which the 
incomparable Asiatic needed, and the message 
brought invaluable strength for an hour of need. 
What did Christ’s presence do for the Asiatic 
who was surrounded by difficulties and against 
whom a death plot had been made? 

No one can carefully examine the words and 
the deeds of Paul without finding abundant evi¬ 
dence of powerful courage. The presence of the 


62 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Lord Jesus and His words that night must have 
made a great contribution to Paul’s endurance, 
to his courage, and to the character of his work. 
With marked steadfastness his face was set to 
the future and, though difficulties were severe 
and perilous, he did a work which has endured 
through the centuries. 

Christendom needs incomparable courage for 
the days into which we have come. If Chris¬ 
tianity has come to the parting of the ways, 
nothing but the presence of Him who knows 
every hour of the way ahead can meet the test¬ 
ing needs of the hour and direct the churches to 
increasing and commanding victories. 

These are great days for the churches of Jesus 
Christ. There are many millions who are out of 
employment and the hearts of many of them are 
filled with fears. There are large numbers of 
business and professional men and women who 
feel severely insecure as they look into the fu¬ 
ture. There is a restlessness around the world 
which is without an example in recent years. 
This is an unusual hour for the man and the 
woman who bear the name of Jesus Christ. This 
stressful, turbulent, and testing day presents to 
the churches a great privilege to reflect clearly 
and commandingly the power of Christ’s pres¬ 
ence. 

The most serious and, to those who look deep 
into the conditions around them, the most alarm- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


63 


ing loss which Christendom has ever suffered is 
the loss on the part of many churches of the 
consciousness of Christ’s presence among His 
people. There are some inevitable results which 
have followed the loss of the God-consciousness. 
There are ministers who have gone for weeks 
without once going in search of one who was 
lost and telling, with the compassion of Calvary, 
that one the way into the kingdom. There are 
teachers of God’s Word who have appeared be¬ 
fore their classes Sunday morning after Sunday 
morning without beseeching the Father for 
power to lead those who know not Christ into 
eternal fellowship with Him. There are office 
bearers who have never gone as did Philip to the 
imperial task of winning the unsaved to the Sav¬ 
iour. There has been a lamentable failure on the 
part of many who are supposed to be heralds of 
the passion of Christ. Every redeemed soul is 
expected to be a herald of the redemptive reaches 
of the Savior. How miserably multitudes have 
failed in the most important work ever assigned 
to man! 

But this is the hour for large numbers of 
churches to realize their lamentable mistakes and 
to enter into their incomparable privilege of ad¬ 
vancing in the inspiration and in the power of 
their Leader’s presence. 


64 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Christ’s presence will equip the heart with 
calmness. 

Christ’s presence will supply the heart with 
courage. 

Christ’s presence will give strength in the hour 
of supreme struggle. 

Christ’s presence will give to ministers of 
God’s Word a reaching compassion for those 
who are lost. 

Christ’s presence will give to His churches an 
awakening concern for those who are walking in 
the ways of ruin and sinking in the depths of sin. 
In the midst of the world’s restlessness and dis¬ 
turbed condition, Christ’s presence in His 
churches will make their members evangels of 
light and life to all who are walking the perilous 
ways without the sustaining and guiding pres¬ 
ence of our Redeemer and Lord. 

Christ is the only hope of the world. 

Christ is sufficient and fully sufficient for all 
the world’s ills. He is ready to walk by our side 
along the way. Let us meet every condition for 
having His wondrous presence. 


Chapter VII 


"I COME TO YOU”—CHRIST 
GROUP of eleven Asiatics were listening 



to their Leader. The men had gone from 
a quiet room in an Eastern city to a spot un¬ 
known to history. There had been growing 
enmity against the Leader and His followers for 
days. Hate had become filled with sublety, 
jealousy, hypocrisy, and a determined purpose 
to bring the Leader to His death. With sur¬ 
passing and indeed unearthly perception the 
Leader had selected an hour when He would 
make more complete revelations of His purpose 
to His followers. Quite probably the clear con¬ 
sciousness of the enemies’ plans was responsible 
for the Leader’s retiring with His small number 
to a room in an empty temple or to a secluded 
spot in the darkness. The Leader was the Lord 
Jesus and the men were the eleven apostles. In 
that unknown spot the Son of God gave to these 
men a promise which is the hope of Christendom 
today, and the present realization of which 
would give all the power which all the churches 
around the world need at this hour. 

The greatest pronouncements have not been 
made on battlefields, from thrones, in parlia¬ 
ments, or in presidents’ chambers. During the 


66 


THE SUPREME NEED 


darkness of the night, at a spot unknown to all 
historians, one of the most potential and power¬ 
ful pronouncements of the ages was made. The 
importance and the power of the pronounce¬ 
ment cannot be appreciated without some un¬ 
derstanding of the enterprise contemplated. 

The plan by which every man, woman, boy, 
and girl of earth and of all time might be re¬ 
claimed, redeemed, re-made was to be told, told 
earnestly, told compassionately, and told re¬ 
peatedly in every place on the planet. No plan 
like it had been contemplated in all the ages. Its 
magnitude was transcendently above the dreams 
and the aspirations of any reformer of the cen¬ 
turies. And eleven men had received the pro¬ 
nouncement. 

These men had no capital but they had a com¬ 
mission. They had no definite plans but they 
were promised a Presence. They were to be left 
without an appointed human leader but they 
were to have access every step of the way to 
their Lord. A world task filled with innumera¬ 
ble difficulties was before them, a task infinitely 
beyond the reach of their power, but Christ said, 
"I am with you.” 

The stupendousness of the work assigned in¬ 
dicates the power to be experienced in the 
realization of the pronouncement. The power 
of Christ’s presence is only realized when one 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


67 


lifts his eyes and sees the marvelous magnitude 
of the task assigned. 

There stand or sit the eleven Asiatics. Around 
them for days hate, jealousy, and enmity have 
been boiling. Their Leader has told them that 
He would be killed. He has also told them that 
they are to face heartless and vicious opposition. 
The fires of persecution are to be seen on every 
side. With the persecutors planning, with hate 
filling the air, and with death on the cross just 
before Him, the Son of God says, *T come unto 
you.” 

Christ knew that these men could not with¬ 
stand the opposition alone. He knew full well 
that they could not press forward in their work 
of redemption without inspiring, inspiriting, and 
sustaining help. The need, urgent and supreme, 
of the churches today is to appropriate the help 
which is theirs, and for their multitude of mem¬ 
bers to realize the power of this pronouncement. 
Dr. Alexander Maclaren, one of the greatest of 
all expositors and one of the towering men of his 
generation, declares: 

*T cannot but think that the average Chris¬ 
tian life of this day woefully fails in the simple, 
conscious realization of this great truth, and 
that we are all far too little living in the calm, 
happy, strengthening assurance that we are never 
alone, but have Jesus Christ with each of us more 


68 


THE SUPREME NEED 


closely, more truly, in a more available fashion, 
and with more omnipotence of influence than 
they had who were nearest Him during the days 
that He lived upon earth.” 

I am quite convinced that the only thing that 
will set the churches forward in their work of 
matchless importance, the only thing that will 
cause the hearts of their millions of members to 
burn with a new zeal, a zeal which will make 
many of us who are loitering along the way be¬ 
come flaming evangels, is recapturing the con¬ 
sciousness of Christ’s own presence. E. Stanley 
Jones, a man who has won the attention of tens 
of thousands, a student of Christian conditions 
in the world of distinguished experience, has this 
timely word: 

"The fact is that we, as Christians, at home 
and abroad, have come to the parting of the 
ways. The strain on our Christianity is getting 
greater and greater. The growing complexity 
of our civilization is increasing the complexity 
of demand for an adequate spiritual dynamic. 
We must give it or fail to function as Christians. 
The extent of the projection of our gospel into 
the soul of this age will be determined by the 
depth of our own experience of that gospel. We 
cannot go further than we have experienced.”* 

"We cannot go further than we have experi- 


"The Christ of Every Road, p. 268. 



OF THE WORLD TODAY 


69 


diced.” Those who are experiencing Christ are 
the ones who are able to testify to the worth of 
Christ’s fellowship and Christ’s peace. The 
churches are seriously in need of something. 
Their first need is not equipment. Their greatest 
need is not larger schools and larger young peo¬ 
ple’s organizations and larger numbers in their 
membership. The supreme and urgent need of 
the churches is to recapture the consciousness of 
their Leader’s presence. The most deplorable and 
lamentable loss that the churches have ever ex¬ 
perienced is the loss, on the part of multitudes, 
of the consciousness of the presence of Jesus. 

"I will not leave you desolate.” Christ knew 
that the eleven men could never grapple with 
the redemptive task alone. He knew that eleven 
thousand men could not go forth with any as¬ 
surance to win the world to righteousness. Lis¬ 
ten as He speaks His message of confidence, "I 
will not leave you orphans: I come to you.” He 
is not referring to an event in the far distant 
future. He is referring to an experience to be 
realized immediately upon His ascension. His 
bodily presence was about at an end but His real 
presence was to last forever. 

Earth has known no greater nor finer courage 
than that evidenced by the early Christians. With 
no human leadership, with no financial backing, 
with no churches to welcome them, but with 


70 


THE SUPREME NEED 


determined opposition on every side, these men 
went to their work with enthusiasm and joy. 
They went through repeated persecutions but 
they went forward with victory in their hearts. 
There is no earthly explanation for their con¬ 
fidence, calmness, and courage. Christ had said, 
"I am with you always,” and surely they believed 
it. Surely they realized His presence. Certain¬ 
ly it was the power of His presence which gave 
certainty to their steps and unfaltering devotion 
to their hearts. 

As I write this chapter, only God knows how 
much I need to experience daily and hourly the 
immeasurable power of the pronouncement 
which Christ made on that night to that small 
body of men. My work will be so mechanical, 
my efforts so shallow, and my steps so uncertain 
if Christ is not present. There is no greater re¬ 
sponsibility upon any man or woman of earth 
than upon the minister of Jesus Christ. The 
minister carries a commission which is filled with 
the compassion of the Man of Calvary. That 
commission bears the death marks of God’s own 
Son. The one who reads it correctly will find 
the earnestness and the glow of Calvary in it. 
Those who read it to its depths will find the des¬ 
tiny of mankind involved in it. Every true 
minister of Jesus Christ carries this commission. 
What will the modern minister do with his com- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


71 


mission? Only God can measure the results 
which will follow the answering of this question. 

The minister who does not experience the 
power of this pronouncement in his study can 
never come before his people with the message 
which their problems and their privileges de¬ 
mand. Let the study be made holy by the pres¬ 
ence of the Lord Jesus; let the pronouncement, 
"I come to you,” be realized while the messages 
for the people are being prepared; and the power 
of that same pronouncement will be experienced 
when the people assemble in the name of the 
Prince of Peace. If Christ’s presence is not 
realized in the minister’s study, he may deal with 
timely themes, he may embellish his message with 
striking sayings and excerpts from the most 
brilliant poets but his people will go away from 
the house of the Lord without that which their 
deepest needs demand. The power of the pro¬ 
phetic pulpit will perish from the earth if 
Christ’s presence is not realized in the study. The 
power of prophetic preaching will be realized 
around the world when the power of Christ’s 
presence is daily experienced in the study. 

"I will not leave you orphans: I come to you,” 
and this is a pronouncement and a promise with 
all the honor of Christ behind it. This is not a 
reference to the second coming of the Lord 
Jesus. If He had been referring to that momen- 


72 


THE SUPREME NEED 


tous event, He would have explained that He 
would be absent from them and from all others 
who might become His followers until He should 
come again. He was talking to the men who 
were with Him and to them He said, "I will not 
leave you orphans.” Then He follows that 
promise with these words, "I come to you.” No 
statement could be clearer than this and it comes 
from the very heart of the Lord Jesus. When 
the churches accept this pronouncement, not as 
a creed to be repeated but as a truth to be 
realized in their world-redemptive task, and 
when their millions of members advance to their 
Christ-assigned work in the wonderful wealth of 
His presence, the most striking and indeed the 
most thrilling changes, which the world has yet 
seen, will be observed. 

This change will be clearly felt and seen in 
many pulpits. A new fervency will be felt. A 
new earnestness will be in evidence. Ministers 
who have not had sufficient interest to go in 
search for the lost will be seen getting into the 
tracks of their Saviour and going into uninvit¬ 
ing places to tell men and women, even the out¬ 
casts and the refuse of society, about the mighty 
power and the charming friendship of the Son of 
God. And as they win one here and another 
yonder, after struggles unknown before, they 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


73 


will find the zeal in their own hearts burning 
with an exhilarating glow. 

This change will also be impressively seen in 
the activities of other church leaders. Office 
bearers, who have never experienced the com¬ 
pelling urge to go in search of men and women 
who are straying into ruin and death, will now 
be seen on their way going after the man who 
has been handcuffed by the officers of perdition 
and is on his way to hell. The officer will go 
with a prayer which will reach to the very center 
of his own soul and to the God of all grace. He 
will tell that manacled man that there is free¬ 
dom for him; that he does not have to go the 
way of ruin; that he does not have to be a slave 
to habits which debase, defeat, and disgrace him; 
that he does not have to spend eternity with 
those who have walked the ways of eternal death. 
There will be assurance in the officer’s words; 
there will be sympathy in his eyes; there will be 
an unearthly compassion in his plea. And, like 
Deacon Philip, he will turn men and women 
from the ways of ruin into the ways of redemp¬ 
tion. 

When the wonder of this pronouncement and 
promise is realized by the teachers of the Word 
of Life, what changes will be observed in the 
ministry of many teachers? The teaching of 
the geography and the history of the lesson will 


74 


THE SUPREME NEED 


only be an introduction to the teacher’s mes¬ 
sage. The passion of Luther and Livingstone, of 
Carey and Bunyan will be felt in ten thousand 
class rooms. In these rooms immortal experi¬ 
ences will take place because the teacher’s own 
heart has been mightily moved by the presence 
of his incomparable Comrade. The future of 
the churches depends upon whether or not their 
members will enter into their matchless privileges 
of advancing in the power of this pronounce¬ 
ment and in the presence of the Prince of Peace. 
That eminent expositor, Alexander Maclaren, 
speaks his heart in this testimony: 

"How did that dispirited group of cowardly 
men ever pluck up courage to hold together af¬ 
ter the crucifixion at all? Why was it that they 
did not follow the example of John’s disciples, 
and dissolve and disappear; and say, 'The game is 
up. It is no use in holding together any longer?’ 
The process of separation began on the very day 
of the crucifixion. Only one thing could have 
stopped it, and that is the resurrection and the 
presence with His Church of the risen Christ in 
His power and in all the fulness of His gifts. If 
it had not been that He came to them, they 
would have disappeared, and Christianity would 
have been one more of the abortive sects forgot¬ 
ten in Judaism. But, as it is, the whole of the 
New Testament after Pentecost is. aflame with 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


75 


the consciousness of a present Christ, working 
amongst His people.” 

Wonderful pronouncement, “I come to you!” 

Wonderful promise, "I come to you!” 

The truth of the pronouncement has been ex¬ 
perienced by many. If the churches are to pos¬ 
sess refreshing, revitalizing power, this pro¬ 
nouncement must be experienced by the multi¬ 
tudes of church members. "I come to you.” It 
has been fulfilled and it is being fulfilled every 
day and every hour. When the churches awake 
to His presence and their vast number of mem¬ 
bers enter into the wonder and the wealth of His 
presence, they will stand forth in power and give 
themselves to the work of world redemption 
with a divine daring which has never been sur¬ 
passed since Christ commanded His followers to 
give the gospel to the lost multitudes of earth. 


Chapter VIII 

INVINCIBLE CHURCHES—HOW? 

H ERE is a statement from Jesus which one 
cannot read with reasonably clear under¬ 
standing without experiencing a rising of the 
deepest emotions. In one sentence the match¬ 
less Teacher is sweeping away forever a mis¬ 
understanding which otherwise would have dis¬ 
turbed millions through the centuries. One of 
His disciples had asked, "Lord, what is come 
to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, 
and not unto the world?” In his reply Jesus 
makes unmistakably clear the way by which one 
may have the invaluable and the imperishable 
fellowship of both God the Son and God the 
Father. Apparently Judas, not Iscariot, believed 
that the manifestation of Christ was for the 
apostles only. Christ, in His reply, had a mes¬ 
sage of mighty meaning for the churches of to¬ 
day. Here is His answer: 

"If a man love me, he will keep my word, and 
my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him.” 

The privileges which Judas had in mind were 
available for the apostles and they were available 
for any one who would meet the conditions. 
They are just as available now as they were when 


THE SUPREME NEED 


77 


Jesus spoke His heart to one of the Twelve. 
Without experiencing these privileges those who 
bear the name of Jesus will find themselves halt¬ 
ing along the way and making no worthy con¬ 
tribution to the work of winning the world to 
Christ. 

Those who meet the conditions and enter into 
the privileges which Christ explained to one of 
His intimate associates will come into possession 
of that which will make their lives mighty con¬ 
tributing forces in the work of world redemp¬ 
tion. In the work of the churches around the 
world and in all the history of Christendom the 
meeting of the condition which Christ here 
makes clear determines everything. To a rever¬ 
ent consideration of the conditions given by the 
Lord Jesus Himself this study now turns. 

"If a man love me, he will keep my word,” 
and here Christ clearly declares that love is the 
basis and cause of obedience. A man’s obedience 
to Christ measures his love for Christ. A 
woman’s obedience to Christ measures her love 
for Christ. 

Just recently I called at a home from which 
there is a lovely daughter in school. When I 
reached the home, I enquired about the father 
and the mother and learned that both were 
away at work. There was a home which re¬ 
quired all the time and effort of that mother, 


78 


THE SUPREME NEED 


but at night she performed her duties in the 
home, and then early in the morning she was 
up and making ready to go to hard work that 
she might share in keeping her daughter in 
school. I came away from that home with a 
consciousness that there is a mother whose love 
is expressing itself in real sacrifice for her grow¬ 
ing daughter. Choirs and congregations sing: 

"My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine, 

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; 

My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou; 

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, *tis now. 

"I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me, 

And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree; 

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow: 

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, *tis now.” 

But Christ speaks His heart and declares, "If a 
man love me, he will keep my word.” Obedi¬ 
ence is the measure of one’s love. Those who 
love Christ are careful to learn what Christ 
would have them do and then are careful to 
obey Christ. Love always prompts obedience. 
If I love the Lord Jesus, can I treat lightly my 
engagement with Him in the beginning of each 
new day? If I love the Lord Jesus, can I treat 
lightly the study of His Word? If I love the 
Lord Jesus, will I not be found trying to tell 
others of what Christ means to me? If I really 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


79 


love the Lord Jesus, will I not tell men and 
women, though I may tell them awkwardly, how 
much they are missing in not knowing Him? 

In thousands of churches and in tens of thou¬ 
sands of hearts the prayer of Elizabeth Prentiss 
should be earnestly and repeatedly made: 

"More love to Thee, O Christ, More love to Thee! 

Hear Thou the prayer I make On bended knee; 

This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee, 
More love to Thee, More love to Thee!” 

I think Matthew loved the Lord Jesus when he 
called together a group of fellow social outcasts, 
made a dinner, and presented to them his Re¬ 
deemer. I think that Andrew loved the Lord 
Jesus when he went searching for his brother 
Simon and brought him to his new Friend. I 
think Stephen loved the Lord Jesus when he gave 
his testimony with such earnestness that the 
enemies of Christ stoned him to death. When 
Saul broke from what careful, keen thinkers of 
his day regarded as a most brilliant career, broke 
with his own relatives and gave himself through 
repeated persecutions to the work of winning 
others to the Saviour, I think he evidenced un¬ 
mistakable love for His Lord. When the modern 
foreign missionary packs his trunk and starts to 
one of the almost innumerable places of spiritual 
destitution and death, I think he is evidencing a 
love for the Lord Jesus. 


80 


THE SUPREME NEED 


There is need today for a devotion to Christ 
which will result in loyalty to the local church 
in attendance, in giving, and in fervently invit¬ 
ing others. There is need of devotion in many, 
many hearts which will express itself in constant 
and zealous effort to bring those who know not 
the Saviour to the Lord Jesus. There is impera¬ 
tive need for devotion which will express itself 
in going anywhere and undertaking any kind of 
task which the Master may indicate. But 
this reply of the Prince of Peace to one of His 
friends has other tremendously important mes¬ 
sages for modern church people. Follow care¬ 
fully the thought of humanity’s peerless Friend 
as he opens his heart further to this enquirer. 

"If a man love me, he will keep my word, and 
my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him.” 

Every Christian of earth should look into the 
depths of this message from the Lord Jesus and 
look with profoundest reverence. Those who 
love the Friend of all friends are careful to learn 
His wishes and they are careful to obey Him. He 
does not ask that which is unreasonable. He may 
call for the supremely sacrificial but He will have 
a supremely important goal in mind and He will 
be ready to provide the most valuable equipment 
and bestow the most valuable awards. 

Concerning the man who loves the Lord Jesus 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


81 


and obeys Him, Jesus says, "My Father will love 
him.” How wonderful for a man to advance 
along life’s highway in the consciousness that 
God loves him! How heartening for a woman 
to approach her tasks in the morning in the 
thought that God loves her! Just now there are 
many millions who are feeling the pressure of 
conditions and quite large numbers of these have 
lost considerable heart and hope. There are 
those who are looking into the future without 
the assurance which their hearts deeply desire. 

I cannot go to my own tasks without help. I 
cannot continue to push forward without rein¬ 
forcement. I cannot look into the future with¬ 
out Another to sustain me and to hearten me. 
How wonderful the message of my Lord! Those 
who have learned to love the Lord Jesus and 
who have expressed their love in their obedience 
are loved every step of the way by the Father. 

There is never an hour but what the Father 
loves them. There is never a day so dark but 
what His love will come through the darkness. 
There is never a testing place on the journey but 
what His love will express itself. I must search 
my own heart and see whether or not I love the 
Lord Jesus and whether or not I am obeying the 
Lord Jesus. If I am, then I have met the con¬ 
dition for having the sustaining love of my 


82 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Father during every experience which may be 
mine in the unexplored tomorrow. 

The consciousness of God’s care and God’s love 
takes much of the sting out of persecution. The 
inspiration of His love has taken much of the 
heat out of the fire as martyrs were giving their 
lives to the cause of redemption. The courage 
contributed by the consciousness of His care and 
His love has supplied the finest equipment in 
many an hour of battle. "My Father will love 
him.” Marvelous is the privilege of which 
Jesus speaks to the hearts of mutitudes who are 
engaged at this hour in the work of world re¬ 
demption! Every man and every woman who 
know the Lord Jesus are privileged to move 
through the experiences of the day sustained and 
inspired by the love of God. 

But Christ has something perhaps of greater 
importance still to say to those who have learned 
the wonderful way of real obedience. And what 
He has to say here quite probably is the most im¬ 
portant thing which the churches of Jesus Christ 
need to learn at this hour. How much men and 
women need to have their choicest thoughts on 
duty and their hearts equipped with reverence 
and spiritual discernment when they come to 
hear this message from the Redeemer! From 
the first word this indefinably important mes¬ 
sage should be examined. 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


83 


"If a man love me, he will keep my word, and 
my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him.” 

These words are so clear that a junior boy or 
girl should be able to understand them. Jesus 
says quite clearly that He and the Father will 
make their abode with those who love and obey 
the Lord Jesus. The vast majority of church 
members would profess to believe what Jesus has 
said about the land beyond the sunset. Church 
members generally confess that they believe what 
He has said about making complete preparation 
for those who finish faithfully their assignments 
here and go hence to live with their Lord. Profes¬ 
sing Christians claim to believe what the Son of 
God has said about the character of the Father. 
Here the Prince of Peace, our matchless Friend, 
is giving to us one of the most inspiriting and 
inspiring truths to be found in all the messages 
which He ever gave, and yet His friends have 
had so little to say about it. 

How He elevates a friend when He says, "We 
will come unto him and make our abode with 
him!” Think of God the Father and God the 
Son coming to live with one on our earth. That 
is just what the Lord plainly says. What a 
change will be observed in many of our lives 
when we meet the condition for Christ’s abiding 
with us! Those who know us most intimately 


84 


THE SUPREME NEED 


will feel the power of an ennobling purpose in 
the very tone of our conversation and in the 
direction of our thinking. Think of it—"We 
will come unto him and make our abode with 
him!” No words can possibly express the depth 
of meaning in such fellowship. When the Father 
and the Lord Jesus come to live with a man, the 
things which mar character are not welcomed 
any more but the ideals which elevate and the 
purposes which purify flourish in this new fel¬ 
lowship. 

When the churches fully realize that Jesus 
meant just what He said and that their members 
may have the very presence of our good and 
great Father and the very presence of Christ 
Jesus Himself, there will be seen the most vital 
changes since the days of apostolic zeal and apos¬ 
tolic fervor. 

Those who never spend thirty minutes a week 
examining and feeding upon the Word of Life 
will be seen diligently searching for the great 
riches reserved in its messages. Those who make 
their offerings out of a sense of duty or a sense 
of church pride will give and give joyously and 
give sacrificially because of a divine compulsion 
within. Many pastors will come to their pul¬ 
pits with a new fervency in their hearts and a 
new power in their messages. What a day it will 
be for the kingdom of Christ when the Chris- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


85 


tian forces realize their imperial privileges and 
live and move in the strength of this matchless 
fellowship! With deeper interest than any 
diamond searcher ever knew, let us look again 
at this statement of the Lord Jesus. 

“We will come unto him and make our abode 
with him,” and here our incomparable Comrade 
makes it clear that it is not a visit of which He is 
speaking. Indeed, it is a permanent residence. 
What may be expected from the residence of the 
Father and the Lord Jesus? 

The man’s aspirations will constantly be reach¬ 
ing up towards God’s thoughts and God’s pur¬ 
poses, and the whole life will be set to a higher 
key. He will emerge from the mediocre and 
struggle for the heights in his spiritual conquests. 
He can never be content to loiter along the way 
and be indolent in the work of the kingdom as 
long as there is one lost person to whom he may 
give his testimony. Indefinably great is the 
ministry of this fellowship, "We will come unto 
him and make our abode with him.” 

When the churches are composed of members 
and ministers who have experienced the mighty 
power of redeeming grace and are living in this 
ennobling fellowship, they will become units of 
an invincible crusade which will carry and carry 
quickly the Redeemer and His matchless message 


86 


THE SUPREME NEED 


to every spot on the planet. Great numbers of 
church people have no need today comparable to 
that of recapturing or coming into possession of 
the consciousness of Christ’s presence. 


Chapter IX 


CHRIST APPEARS IN A NIGHT OF PERIL 

F EAR is a terrifying and paralyzing monster. 

Fear is destructive and deadly. No human 
mind has yet measured the power of fear. 

Fear is forcing itself into the office of the busi¬ 
ness man and telling him that the future is filled 
with failures. Fear suddenly appears in the 
home and leaves its message of alarm. Fear over¬ 
takes the farmer as, in the early morning, he goes 
to his fields and tells him that his crops will be a 
failure or that the market will be dull or dead. 
This is not the end of the devastating work of 
fear. 

Fear is making very threatening assaults upon 
the workers of the kingdom. Single-handed, 
but equipped with a divine urge, a man made his 
way into a city where the forces of death and 
hell were pressing their work of ruin. No board 
stood behind the man. No human companion 
attended him. No church was ready to receive 
him. Alone! The daring of it! The deter¬ 
mination he evidenced! The churches of Jesus 
Christ are suffering, seriously suffering, in my 
day for lack of a sufficient number of such work¬ 
ers. No churches with chimes or appealing ap¬ 
pearances awaited this man, but wickedness en- 


88 


THE SUPREME NEED 


trenched on every street awaited him. Into the 
contaminating, corrupting Corinth this man en¬ 
tered to tell his story. Hawks, Peary, Byrd, nor 
Lindbergh evidenced such courage. Away from 
the eyes of militarists, statesmen, and royalty 
something unearthly is taking place. An epic 
is being born. What are to be the results of this 
unusual and marvelous undertaking? 

This immortal messenger, this peerless pioneer, 
this daring, determined doer, enters upon his task 
—the task of telling a city sunken in sin the 
way of cleansing and redemption. Some progress 
was being made when opposition, vicious and 
relentless, developed. Fear followed. No one 
knows the power and the peril of that fear. 

Fear today is shattering the nerves of multi¬ 
tudes. Fear is paralyzing the hands and the 
hearts of many who are engaged in tasks of great 
importance. Fear is driving valuable men and 
noble women from their positions into the sick 
room and some to the mad house. If fear had 
defeated this man in the wealthy and wicked 
Corinth, what losses the city, the continent, and 
the centuries would have suffered! 

If fear had driven him from the field, some of 
the most vital messages of earth would never 
have been spoken and some of the greatest riches 
of revelation would not be available today. If 
fear had conquered the stranger who was work- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


89 


ing worthily in the wicked city at his redemptive 
task; if fear had succeeded in driving this man to 
an invalid’s chair or to a burial in a potter’s field; 
ten or twelve books of the New Testament 
would never have been written. If this mighty 
man was to survive the pitiless assaults of fear, 
help was imperatively necessary. And something 
took place in that hour of crisis which should 
give hope to every worthy heart of earth. 

When Paul was having a decisive struggle with 
fear, help, invaluable help, was given. And the 
Giver came with the help and gave it to the man 
who had undertaken alone the work of redemp¬ 
tion in corrupting Corinth. And who was this 
Helper? The answer needs to be given and con¬ 
sidered with reverence. Christ came to Corinth. 
Christ came because a man dared to undertake a 
task of measureless moment. 

It was during a night when, quite probably, 
this man of such unearthly determination was 
thinking over the stupendousness of his task and 
talking to the Father about the vicious opposi¬ 
tion which he was facing that this immortal 
experience took place. Christ appeared and 
brought this message, "Be not afraid, but speak 
and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee.” 
For I am with thee . No human thought can 
survey the power of that statement. A little 
while before His death and His ascension, Christ 


90 


THE SUPREME NEED 


had said, "Lo, I am with you all the days,” and 
here He is making His presence known at a 
crucial hour on the way of one of His devoted 
disciples. Surely the heart of Robert Keene of 
London must have been experiencing the fulfill¬ 
ment of this wonderful promise when he wrote: 

"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismay’d, 

For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid; 

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, 
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.” 

The greatest need for my generation is for the 
churches to make a discovery of the presence of 
Jesus. I went to church last night. It was the 
hour of prayer. The church has a beautiful 
building and a large membership. I attended 
first a group meeting of teachers of the Sunday 
school. Then, when the sessions of the several 
groups were closed, I entered the assembly room 
for the hour of prayer. 

The people entered greeting each other, many 
talking and some laughing. The fellowship 
seemed to be fine. The genial director of music 
led the congregation in singing some choice 
hymns. A secretary announced the number at¬ 
tending the several groups of teachers. A minis¬ 
ter was introduced who gave an earnest and an 
impressive exposition of a selection of Scripture. 
The meeting was adjourned with prayer. 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


91 


Judged by present-day standards the meeting 
was above the average Wednesday night service, 
far above many. In the group meeting of teach¬ 
ers which I attended and in the assembly one 
could see but little evidence in the discussions, 
the announcements, the singing, and the ser¬ 
mon that the people had any idea that Jesus 
was present. The world has been profoundly 
influenced by another meeting, in another city, 
on another night. Only one man was present 
but Christ also was there. 

The greatest need of the churches of my day 
is to make a discovery of the presence of Jesus. 
Church members need to see Jesus and to hear 
Him speak. What was the powerfully impres¬ 
sive feature of that meeting in wicked Corinth? 
The bitter opposition had pushed Paul out of the 
synagogue. The meeting certainly was not in 
any lovely chapel or church. The place was not 
of sufficient importance even to be mentioned. 
Three things were of sufficient importance to be 
carefully recorded: 

A work of redemption in a wicked city; 

A man engaged in this work meeting vicious and threaten¬ 
ing opposition; 

The presence of Christ Jesus. 

And Christ’s presence that night changed 
things. 


92 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Finely trained choirs may be valuable and in¬ 
spirational but there was no choir present that 
night. Church buildings which are the crea¬ 
tions of architectural genius are impressive and 
important but this meeting did not take place in 
any church. Organization is important and may 
be used for setting forward the work of the king¬ 
dom but there was no organization in evidence 
that night. Christ was present and the influence 
of the meeting of these two, Paul and Christ, has 
lived through the centuries and covered much 
of the earth. 

There are almost countless numbers who at¬ 
tend church, take part perhaps in the singing, 
probably make an offering, but go away with the 
same quantity and quality of courage, the same 
measure of might, with nothing added to their 
inspiration, and with no new supplies of hope 
and faith. Such experiences are tragic. 

I was doing some reporting in a Christian 
congress in which were representatives from 
many nations. A speaker brought a message 
which was filled with elevating inspiration. 
Many were powerfully moved. The theme was 
of mighty moment. At the close of the mes¬ 
sage I asked a fellow reporter what was his reac¬ 
tion to the address. He replied that he did not 
react to it—that he was just reporting. I dis¬ 
covered that he was literally dead to the great 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


9 3 


heart appeal which had marvelously moved many 
others in the audience. 

The serious and lamentable weakness of many 
church services is that there is not experienced 
the elevating awe, the urge of inspiration, and 
the compelling compassion which attend the 
presence of Jesus. The next step of the church, 
if she is to move forward capturing the attention 
of the unreached millions, will not be in the 
direction of more efficient organization or better 
equipment but toward Jesus Christ. When a 
congregation comes face to face with Jesus, lis¬ 
tens to His counsel and command, and catches 
the unearthly power of His presence, then, if the 
members are not present with closed minds and 
hearts, something is just as certain to follow as 
light is certain to come with the rising of the 
sun. 

"And he continued a year and six months” and 
this is one result of that night’s meeting with 
Jesus. Not only was he working in one of the 
most wicked cities earth has known but he was 
working in the face of cruel and determined op¬ 
position. Week by week and morning by morn¬ 
ing this man faced the subtle and luring forces 
before which many noble men and women have 
gone down. But he did not go down. He went 
forward. He went forward with challenging 
courage. In the midst of this suffocating sen- 


94 


THE SUPREME NEED 


suality he established and built a church whose 
influence lifted men and women out of their 
wickedness and ruin. 

This man awoke one morning to face corrupt¬ 
ing Corinth and to go to his task with new con¬ 
fidence and with powerful assurance. During 
the night he had seen Jesus. During the night 
he had heard Jesus say, '‘Be not afraid . . . 

hold not thy peace . . . for I am with thee.” 
Those who had come to know this remarkable 
man surely saw a new light in his eyes that morn¬ 
ing. There was an assuring note in his words. 
He went to his task with confidence in control. 
When he put his hands to his work that morn¬ 
ing, he saw the face of Christ and he heard Jesus 
saying, "I am with thee.” There is no pos¬ 
sible chance to defeat a man who has such ex¬ 
periences. He still grappled with a task of 
stupendous magnitude and weight but his ef¬ 
forts were sustained with mighty equipment. 

Buildings and equipment are very valuable in 
the work of the kingdom but such an experience 
as this Asiatic had that night is worth more to 
the cause of world redemption than a million 
dollar "plant.” Indeed I am not minimizing the 
importance of worthy buildings but I would 
like, if I could, to give worthy emphasis to the 
importance of the presence of the Redeemer. 

The churches of America have a matchless 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


95 


privilege. Our churches are facing a task which 
is causing deep concern for many. Forty mil¬ 
lion lost men, women, boys, and girls walk or 
ride by the doors of America’s churches every 
week. Forty million! Think of it—there are 
enough lost people passing by America’s churches 
to make eighty cities the size of our national 
capital. In the midst of these forty millions 
are churches, many thousands of churches. 
Many of these churches have memberships 
from one hundred to three and four thou¬ 
sand. Hundreds and hundreds of these churches 
have trained staffs of workers and elaborate 
equipment and yet forty million lost people are 
weekly passing the doors of America’s churches. 

Today the churches of America are not evi¬ 
dencing the finest faith and are not making the 
most worthy efforts. Some large denominations 
are suffering serious losses in their membership. 
Has death set in? I do not know. I do know 
that there is a work of vast and stupendous mag¬ 
nitude before these churches, and I know that 
this work is not being worthily undertaken. 
Forty million lost men, women, boys, and girls 
passing by America’s churches and a number of 
large bodies losing in membership! American 
churches have the buildings, the wealth, the 
schools, and the members. However, every care¬ 
ful observer knows that there is something lack- 


96 


THE SUPREME NEED 


ing just now. Those who are deeply in earnest 
are feeling and feeling keenly that something 
more is needed. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman felt 
this need when he wrote: 

"I know of a world that is sunk in shame, 

Where hearts oft faint and tire; 

But I know of a Name, a precious Name, 

That can set that world on fire: 

Its sound is sweet, its letters flame. 

I know of a name, a precious name, *tis Jesus.” 

The supreme and imperative need of the 
churches of this generation is the clear conscious¬ 
ness that Christ is present with His people. The 
man who contended in Corinth with vicious op¬ 
position and worked in the midst of wickedness 
won a mighty triumph. But he worked with 
regal equipment. A look into the eyes of Jesus 
put new power into his speech, and the words of 
the Man of Calvary gave certainty to his efforts. 

When Christ is realized in His churches, the 
members will go to the kingdom tasks in their 
own communities with earnestness which will 
capture attention; they will permit no difficul¬ 
ties to defeat or to deter them seriously; they 
will win to Christ Jesus multitudes who daily 
pass their doors and enlist them in the work of 
world redemption. The churches can win 
mighty and imperishable victories today but they 
can win only in the power of Christ. 


Chapter X 


MIGHTY MEN AND HOW THEY ARE 
MADE 



N ambassador from God unexpectedly and 


suddenly enters the presence of King Ahab. 
He has come on a mission of great importance 
and he has brought a message with Jehovah’s 
authority upon it. Indeed, the message is Jeho¬ 
vah’s. The announcement reveals the fearful¬ 
ness and the awfulness of sin and God’s mighty 
concern for those who were being consumed by 
the iniquities of the day. The character of the 
ambassador presents a study of tremendous and 
urgent importance for the whole world at this 


hour. 


When Elijah enters unheralded into the pres¬ 
ence of King Ahab, he evidences remarkable 
strength of character. Stanley declares that he 
is "the grandest and most romantic character 
that Israel ever produced.” And the condition 
of the country sorely needed a man of com¬ 
manding strength. And the world at this hour 
is almost if not entirely desperately in need of 
men and women of marked strength and daring 
courage. The New York Times of May 24, 
1931, quotes Arthur Henderson, British Foreign 


98 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Secretary, as saying before the Third Session of 
the Commission on European Union of the 
League of Nations, at Geneva, on May 19, 1931: 

"In our countries, unemployment, poverty 
and actual starvation are present; and yet, while 
men walk the streets and cannot find work to 
earn bread for their hungry families, the corn 
bins of Europe and the countries overseas are 
bursting with food that cannot be sold. 

"Our potential power to create wealth is 
greater than it has ever been. Capital by count¬ 
less millions is lying idle in our banks waiting to 
be used. There are hundreds of millions of peo¬ 
ple in the world whose demands, not for com¬ 
forts and luxuries but for the strict necessities of 
life, are not satisfied in anything like a reasona¬ 
ble measure, and so far we have been unable to 
break the vicious circle of disaster.”* 

In his recent book, America Weighs Her 
Gold, James Harvey Rogers, Sterling Professor 
of Political Economy, Yale University, shows us 
in diagram that on December 31, 1913, the 
United States owned 23.1% of the world’s 
monetary gold supply and that on June 30, 1931, 
she owned 42.7%. In view of her gold supply 
and her other unusually favorable conditions one 
would expect the blooming of rose gardens, the 
singing of birds, and evidences of abundance 

* James Harvey Rogers, America Weighs Her Gold, p. 71. 



OF THE WORLD TODAY 


99 


everywhere. But Professor Rogers reminds his 
readers that: 

"The severe and prolonged depression condi¬ 
tions in the United States need no description 
here. The unusual phenomena of starvation in 
the midst of plenty, of all kinds of misery in the 
face of apparent overproduction of articles most 
distressingly needed, of tragic unemployment, of 
severe decline in prices and incomes, and of hope¬ 
less bankruptcies require no elaboration.”** 

That there is something seriously wrong with 
the country every one who thinks knows and 
knows quite well. The United States has in¬ 
vested in educational institutions billions of dol¬ 
lars and today there are thousands of students 
who have graduated from these institutions of 
learning who cannot find employment. There 
are hundreds of thousands in industrial centers 
who go to sleep every night with want at their 
doors. Many manufacturers have machinery 
idle a part of almost every week. There are 
many merchants who are battling bravely to 
continue in business and there are many thou¬ 
sands of farmers who have brought their crops 
from the fields knowing that they could not pay 
for their production. 

The economic and financial disturbances, seri¬ 
ous though they may be, are not the matters 


**Ibid., p. 171. 



100 


THE SUPREME NEED 


which need first attention. These conditions are 
a product of far deeper and far more severe 
needs. The only hope of dealing successfully 
with these matters of minor importance is to deal 
frankly and worthily with the matter of major 
importance. Elijah was equipped with power¬ 
ful strength of character and wonderful cour¬ 
age because he gave attention to matters of first 
consideration. One of the greatest needs of the 
nations now is more men and more women who 
are equipped with the possessions of Elijah. 

There are indeed multitudes of mediocre men 
in positions of very great importance. And this 
is true in every department of life’s activities. 

In legislative halls men are needed who will 
not bend to the pressure of any selfish interest. 
Men are always needed who are strong enough to 
resist and spurn offers which, though they prom¬ 
ise ease or income, and though they are wrapped 
in pleasing colors, carry dishonor. Men in the 
lawmaking bodies and in the offices where jus¬ 
tice is supposed to be administered should be 
girded with strength of character and equipped 
with courage which will defy any condition. 

There are relations now between the United 
States and many of the leading nations which de¬ 
mand men who possess the character of the man 
who suddenly appeared before King Ahab and, 
without apology, made an announcement which 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


101 


should have shaken him wide awake. The rela¬ 
tion between England and India calls for men 
whose hearts are fortified with divine courage 
and the sense of fairness which imbued the spirit 
of the Man of Calvary. The relation between 
Japan and China will never be an inspiring and 
an elevating relation until the qualities which 
made Elijah are evidenced in the deportment of 
Japan’s and China’s leaders. 

A major need and one of the greatest needs of 
earth now is men and women who are courageous 
enough to obey God. From some spot unknown 
to all historians and students, Elijah came on a 
mission of transcendent importance. King Ahab 
and Queen Jezebel may have been living in “their 
ivory palace,” and the strange visitor may have 
worn nothing but his crude girdle and his cloak 
of sheepskin, but the king and the queen that 
day saw the passion for righteousness burning in 
the visitor’s eyes. That day Ahab saw evidence 
of divine courage breaking through a great man’s 
message. 

When Elijah had delivered his soul to the king, 
God signaled him into seclusion and he went 
without a question. Elijah was brave enough to 
obey God. And just here is to be found one of 
the most serious of many weaknesses of Christen¬ 
dom. How very much many who attempt to 
proclaim the messages of Jehovah need the 


102 


THE SUPREME NEED 


courage of Elijah! Surely obedience to God in 
more pulpits would marvelously quicken many 
churches. Here is Obedience advancing into the 
king’s presence with a message of serious mo¬ 
ment. There is Obedience turning away from 
the palace going into seclusion. 

"Hide thyself by the brook Cherith,” and 
here is another marked evidence of Elijah’s great¬ 
ness. He was great enough to accept the incon¬ 
veniences of seclusion. There were no luxuries 
out there, but God gave His presence, and 
God’s presence was infinitely more important 
than elegantly furnished rooms. There was no 
delicatessen at hand, but the ravens came at 
God’s command and the sight of the ravens was 
a reminder of God’s care. Elijah’s greatness was 
reflected in his accepting the Cherith assign¬ 
ment. He was out there by the brook in God’s 
presence and he and Jehovah were building one 
of the mighty characters of all time. 

Was this plain man out in seclusion a great 
man? He was great enough for Jehovah to sus¬ 
pend one of His laws, and to take the mighty re¬ 
former to heaven without being touched by the 
hand of Death. When God had a mission of su¬ 
preme importance, He sent Elijah as one of the 
two men back to earth on that mission to our 
Lord. If God could not have trusted him to 
deliver the message to Ahab and to retire into 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


103 


seclusion, He could not have trusted him with 
this imperial mission. 

God’s missions always require men and women 
whose hearts possess a high devotion to the cause 
of righteousness. The world just now needs 
more men and women of the Elijah type. Men 
and women who are willing to sacrifice to the 
point of suffering and sacrifice not only without 
complaining but sacrifice with joy are needed 
in every church around the world. Did Elijah 
think of apologizing to Ahab or Jezebel for not 
having a suit finely finished and properly pressed 
for the occasion of his visit to the royal palace? 
Such incidentals may seriously disturb lesser men 
but they never disturbed this man who was capa¬ 
ble of being sent by God on an imperial mission. 
He was robed with the splendor of God and his 
spirit was not disquieted about small matters. 

We have come to a very serious period in world 
affairs. Those who have not taken time to look 
into the underlying causes of what appears on 
the surface do not know how very serious the 
conditions are around and before the nations at 
this hour. And many noble men and noble 
women are honestly enquiring the way out and 
up and on. I have not met one man or one 
woman who is satisfied with conditions. There 
is almost an unprecedented restlessness and dis¬ 
content in the world. Men and women of medi- 


104 


THE SUPREME NEED 


ocre courage cannot grapple successfully with 
supreme issues. The kind of men and women to 
engage in the supremely important tasks are 
made just as Elijah was made. They are men 
and women whose divine courage makes it pos¬ 
sible for them to put their very lives into their 
efforts without trembling in their tracks over the 
results. And how may such men and women 
be made? 

"As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom 
I stand”—and there is the secret of the com¬ 
manding character of Elijah. He knew the 
power of Jehovah’s presence. Jehovah’s pres¬ 
ence always carries transforming power. 

Jehovah’s presence put courage into the heart 
of Elijah. Jehovah’s presence gave authority to 
the message of the strange visitor who entered 
the presence of Ahab. Jehovah’s presence made 
fearless the heart of him who went to the king 
on a mission of great moment. Yes, there is 
emancipating power in the very presence of 
Jehovah. 

Any permanent change for the better in world 
conditions must have at its heart the power of 
the Prince of Peace. Somebody must stand in 
God’s presence and move in His authority and 
strength. Every minister of Jesus Christ must 
recognize that his ministry depends wholly upon 
his contact with Christ. Every teacher of the 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


105 


Word of Life must recognize that the weight 
and the worth of his teaching depends upon the 
weight and the worth of his relation to the Lord 
Jesus. Every singer of the gospel should come 
to feel and to feel keenly that the worth of his 
message in song depends upon the place which 
Christ has in his life. Men and women who stand 
in God’s presence will carry Jehovah’s elevating 
power into every contact. 

Yes, there is a way out of present world con¬ 
ditions, and there is a way onward and upward. 
And this way is the one which Elijah traveled. 
Great courage is necessary on this way and this 
courage can be found as Elijah found it—in the 
presence of Jehovah. And this privilege of liv¬ 
ing in Jehovah’s presence was not reserved alone 
for Elijah. This privilege of unspeakable im¬ 
portance may be enjoyed by any man and any 
woman willing to meet the conditions, willing to 
make the work of the kingdom supremely first 
in their lives. There are multitudes who hold 
membership in Christ’s churches who have never 
known what it is to make the work of their 
Saviour first in their lives. There are imperial 
privileges awaiting them. 

An officer in a church accepted my invitation 
to call upon an unsaved member of the Bible 
school of which the officer was a member. The 
officer is a business man of distinction in his city 


106 


THE SUPREME NEED 


and a church member who has the confidence 
of the church. After making the call he con¬ 
fessed frankly that the experience was new to 
him and yet he had been a member of that 
church for more than a quarter of a century. 
That is a tragedy. Who was this man? His 
name is Legion. Yes, Jehovah’s peace, Jehovah’s 
power, and Jehovah’s presence are available but 
they are available only for those who, like Elijah, 
make the work of the kingdom supremely first. 

One who stands and moves in God’s presence 
speaks Jehovah’s message, carries and evidences 
commanding courage, and possesses emancipat¬ 
ing power. Elijah’s words, Elijah’s will, and 
Elijah’s way were fashioned out of his fellowship 
with Him before whom he stood and in whose 
presence he advanced. It needs to be said with 
tremendous emphasis that the wonderful privi¬ 
lege which Elijah enjoyed is available today for 
all who will move as did Elijah. 

If the ministers of Christ’s churches and other 
members will stand in God’s presence as did this 
mighty man of the centuries, a spiritual awaken¬ 
ing will be experienced which will sweep the con¬ 
tinents. Then the minor matters of economic 
and financial maladjustments, in the nations 
where Christianity is established, will be cor¬ 
rected but the supremely important thing will 
be realized—every man and every woman who 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


107 


know the Lord Jesus will become messengers of 
the good news of the kingdom, and the Prince of 
Peace will be presented to the many millions who 
have not yet heard the name of the Lord Jesus. 
Then the divine impact of Christ’s churches will 
be felt to the ends of the earth. 


Chapter XI 


A NIGHT WHICH CLAIMED NEW CON¬ 
TINENTS 


N imperial motive was moving in the mind 



of a man as he crossed some provinces in 


western Asia. He was not searching for markets 
for goods. No military mission lay hidden in 
his brain. Much of the thinking of the world 
is being done about matters of secondary and 
tertiary importance. When the major thinking 
of the Christian men and the Christian women 
of earth is done concerning matters of major im¬ 
portance, many sluggish, silent, and sleeping 
churches will become centers of transforming 
power. 

This Asiatic was being driven forward by a 
motive unsurpassed in earth’s history. For the 
sake of the work to which he was giving himself, 
he had abandoned the dreams of his young man¬ 
hood and had suffered the loss of things which 
men and women of smaller caliber and ideals hold 
highest in their ambitions. Without boards to 
support him or friends to welcome and to assist 
him he was going forth to tell men and women 
about the Friend of Sinners, the Prince of Peace. 
He was on the very highest mission. 

The churches have multitudes of members to- 


THE SUPREME NEED 


109 


day who have church pride, department devo¬ 
tion and loyalty which issue in attendance and 
financial support but whose hearts are not im¬ 
bued with that Christ-given zeal which makes 
men and women restless for the privilege of pre¬ 
senting the Redeemer. Churches must die whose 
members are equipped with only shallow and 
superficial devotion. 

Churches whose members carry into their 
daily contacts the compassion of the Lord Jesus 
are invincible. Nothing will make the churches 
equal to the conditions of the world today except 
the same matchless power which moved in the 
heart of this man who gave up everything for 
Christ. 

This man who had sacrificed the plans which 
were once supremely dear for the opportunity 
of telling men and women of the wonderful 
work of redemption had drawn his plans for 
work in certain communities but Christ coun¬ 
seled him to stop and turn his steps in another 
direction. And he turned his course. 

The ministers of many churches, the men who 
are supposed to be more like the Lord Jesus than 
any other group of people in the world, are very 
much influenced by the size of the churches, the 
kind of building and equipment, the character 
of the people, and the salary. The character of 
the ministry will profoundly influence the work 


110 


THE SUPREME NEED 


of the churches. There are weaknesses in the 
ministry today which may greatly grieve the 
Lord Jesus. 

This marvelous Asiatic changed his steps when 
Christ suggested a change. Many churches to¬ 
day are impotent and some are literally dying 
for want of more men and more women who 
are strong enough and brave enough to follow 
instantly the counsel of Christ Jesus. Here is a 
statement of very deep significance for ministers 
and churches of all time: “And when they were 
come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into 
Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them 
not.” Follow the story a bit further and evi¬ 
dences of God’s plan will come clearly into sight. 
“And passing by Mysia they came down to Troas. 
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There 
was a man of Macedonia, standing, beseeching 
him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and 
help us.” 

I do not know who this man was but I am 
quite convinced that Jesus Christ had planned 
the course of this peerless Asiatic and that this 
experience that night in Troas was a clear revela¬ 
tion of a part of the plan. In the vision the man 
plead, “Come over into Macedonia and help 
us.” 

There lay Europe untouched by the heralds 
of the good news of the kingdom. Very wisely 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


111 


denominations have created boards for studying 
the needs in territories where the light and the 
life of the gospel have not been sent and where 
darkness and death are pervading the lands. 
Very wisely denominations are maintaining such 
boards for invaluable ministry in carrying for¬ 
ward the work in these lands of moral and spirit¬ 
ual night. 

The power of the spirit of Christ upon this 
Asiatic is more clearly realized when it is remem¬ 
bered that there was no supporting board behind 
him and no friend or group of friends in Mace¬ 
donia ready to receive him and to give him in¬ 
spiring comradeship in his new and very difficult 
task. The marvelous power of Christ in the 
life of this Asiatic is reflected in this statement, 
"And when he had seen the vision, straightway 
we sought to go forth into Macedonia.” 

Suppose he had not been sufficiently equipped 
with the strength of Christ to respond to the 
vision. Apparently multitudes of others have 
faltered and turned back when God called to 
advance. There is every reason for believing 
that the denominations today are halting before 
opportunities of mighty significance. What if 
the Asiatic had turned back? So far as human 
eyes can see—tragedies indescribable! What 
would have been the result if the very presence 


112 


THE SUPREME NEED 


of Christ had not equipped his heart for this dar¬ 
ing expedition? 

Then the story, the inspiring story, of Philippi 
would never have been written. That trium¬ 
phant jail experience would never have occurred. 
Turn to an atlas and mark that first journey on 
the continent of Europe. Stand at Troas on 
the shore of the Aegean Sea and look across to 
Philippi. Then follow that immortal journey 
down to Thessalonica, on to Berea, then south to 
Athens, and west to Corinth. If the Asiatic 
had turned back at Troas! Then there would 
never have been the story of that fine, faithful, 
and fervent effort in cultured Athens. The 
world would never have had the epic born in 
Corinth. If his heart had faltered that night 
at Troas and his feet had turned back toward 
Antioch, with the story of his vision hidden in 
his heart, there are other lamentable losses which 
the world would have suffered. 

The two letters to the Thessalonians were born 
out of experiences at Thessalonica. The two 
great doctrinal letters, I and II Corinthians, were 
born out of experiences in Corinth. That great¬ 
est of all his letters, Romans, was written on the 
continent of Europe. The letter to the Philip- 
pians, this message of triumphant joy, was con¬ 
ceived and given to the world as a direct re¬ 
sult of the Asiatic’s experience in Europe. The 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


113 


unique, charming, inspiring message to Philemon, 
this distinctly personal message which is filled 
with gospel for the world today, was written by 
the Asiatic while he was confined a prisoner in 
the most powerful of European cities. The 
mighty and marvelous achievements of this East¬ 
erner on the continent of Europe may have con¬ 
tributed much to the vicious opposition which 
sent him to prison and to death. The world 
might never have had this imperishable letter 
but for his response to the leadership of the Lord 
Jesus. If he had turned back at Troas, the 
world would never have had five of his great 
messages and probably not even one of them. If 
his faith and courage had faltered in that hour 
of crisis, he probably never would have been as¬ 
signed the work by the Holy Spirit of writing 
any of the thirteen epoch-making messages. 
God’s assignments for the greater tasks of tomor¬ 
row depend upon our faithfulness in the tasks 
of today. 

While the story of this Asiatic’s journey 
through the provinces of Asia Minor is filled 
with interest, there is one fact of supreme im¬ 
portance—the man with his message was respon¬ 
sive to the suggestions of the Lord Jesus. When 
his face was set toward Bithynia and his plans 
were made to enter that territory, Jesus coun- 


114 


THE SUPREME NEED 


seled otherwise and the man set his face in an¬ 
other direction. 

The vision at Troas and the call to Europe 
were reserved for the heart that was ready to 
respond to the will of the world’s Redeemer. 
Christ’s counsel was the matter of first con¬ 
sideration. The Asiatic had seen Christ. He 
had talked to Christ. Christ had come to fill the 
purpose of his life. To do what Christ wanted 
done—that was the matter of supreme impor¬ 
tance with him. If Christ put His hands upon 
him and said not Bithynia but go west, what 
difference to him? Christ was filling the hori¬ 
zon of his life and for him Christ’s word was 
supremely right. 

The presence of Christ is reserved for those 
who will obey Him. This is just as true of 
denominations as of individuals. "Lo, I am with 
you always” was a promise made to a group. 
And this promise was made following a com¬ 
mand of Christ, "Go ye therefore, and make 
disciples of all the nations.” The presence of 
Christ is reserved for the individual or the group 
of individuals who will dare to obey the world’s 
Redeemer. The loss of the Christ-conscious- 
ness by multitudes of professing Christians is 
the most serious loss of the Christian centuries. 

I believe thoroughly in the importance of or¬ 
ganization in the churches and the denomina- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


115 


tions. I believe fully that sufficient buildings 
and equipment are matters which deserve care¬ 
ful attention. Graded courses of study have a 
very important mission. The offering of awards 
in the training life of the churches and the 
denominations can be made to stimulate study. 
But some mistakes have been made which will 
require decades to correct. Matters of second¬ 
ary and tertiary importance have been made to 
appear as of first importance. 

The motor may be highly and perfectly de¬ 
signed, admirably finished, and finely equipped 
but if there is no power within, the motor will 
never move the car an inch. The matter of first 
and supreme importance in the life of every 
believer, every church, and every denomination 
is not the organization, not the building and the 
equipment, but Christ. To even suggest that 
Christ’s presence has not been and is not serious¬ 
ly being neglected in the vast majority of 
churches is to confess to an ignorance of church 
life today. Church magazines and papers have 
been supplied by the churches with numbers in 
the teaching and training departments until vast 
multitudes have come to feel that these are mat¬ 
ters of first importance. The reports in the 
churches on Sunday mornings and Sunday nights 
have made so much of other matters and so little 
of Christ that the present generation has been 


116 


THE SUPREME NEED 


educated to think supremely about buildings, 
awards, finances, and numbers, and but little of 
the presence of Christ. If the churches are to 
continue in their Christ-assigned mission, a 
change of emphasis must be made and made im¬ 
mediately. 

This Asiatic had divine courage enough to 
obey the call to a new field. O that Christians 
everywhere had that courage! How his fare 
across the Aegean Sea was paid I do not know. 
What kind of lodging was secured when he en¬ 
tered the first town in Europe no one knows. He 
had Silas, Timothy, and Luke on the journey but 
he had another Companion and this other Com¬ 
panion determined matters. 

He gave instructions at Troas, and His pres¬ 
ence was providing the inspiration and the power 
at every stop and in every task. That Troas ex¬ 
perience has lessons of tremendous significance 
for those who have ears to hear the words of the 
Master and eyes to see the way and the only way 
to power and to progress. 

Committees may perform a valuable minis¬ 
try but there were no committees to report. 
Speakers of charm and persuasive appeals were 
not brought from Jerusalem, or Philippi, or 
Athens to urge the consideration of matters 
which were thought to be seriously important. 
Dinners may be made an occasion of fine fel- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


117 


lowship but there was no dinner at one dollar or 
two dollars the plate and a toastmaster of politi¬ 
cal preferment to preside. But something took 
place in Troas that night which many believe 
marked an epoch in human affairs. 

Christ indirectly or directly gave a message to 
one man and the giving of that message was ac¬ 
companied by the impelling consciousness that 
Christ was in the message; that Christ had 
spoken. Immediately a new continent was 
claimed for Christ. Language fails as attempt 
is made to describe the importance of that ex¬ 
perience at Troas. A new continent, a pivotal 
continent in world affairs and in world history, 
was immediately swung into view and claimed 
in a human heart for Christ. Much of Christen¬ 
dom, vast numbers of churches, have been lured 
away from the matter of supreme importance. 

Similar experiences to that Troas hour is the 
one outstanding need of the denominations and 
the churches at this hour. When the presence 
of Christ is commandingly recognized in the 
annual gathering of any denomination and His 
message is clearly heard, the world will feel the 
impact of the experience. When Christ’s pres¬ 
ence is realized in any church and His message 
is heard by the members, the community and the 
city will feel the power of that experience. 
Christendom’s supreme need now is to make 


118 


THE SUPREME NEED 


room and make ready for Christ and His mes¬ 
sage. In the churches nothing else is of very 
serious importance. His presence, His message, 
and His power will change everything. The 
Troas experience is a supreme need of the 
churches today. Christ is ready to reveal Him¬ 
self. Will not the churches and the church 
members make immediate room and make ready 
for Him? 


Chapter XII 


OUT OF WORLD TURMOIL INTO KING¬ 
DOM PROGRESS 



HE serious disturbance of the day is quite 


X largely world wide. It is not confined to 
our own great and rich land. But a few refer¬ 
ences can be much more easily made and much 
better understood when they refer to home con¬ 
ditions. 

Our own country has been guided or has 
drifted into turbulent waters and it is time that 
every patriot is asking himself some questions 
about our condition. Today, we are told, our 
country is suffering from overproduction of 
food and yet many are hungry and cannot get 
food and some are starving. We have an over¬ 
production of cotton and at the same time there 
are millions who are or will be cold because of 
insufficient clothes. Bumper crops of corn and 
wheat have been harvested and yet there are 
bread lines. The United States is the richest and 
the most powerful nation on earth but all of 
our riches and all of our political machinery and 
power are not meeting the needs, the funda¬ 
mental needs, of millions of our citizens. 

Recently in the Southern Conference on Edu¬ 
cation in session at the University of North 


120 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Carolina, the emeritus president of one of our 
most historic colleges declared "that the struc¬ 
ture of our organized life trembles on the edge 
of revolution.” Two decades ago there scarcely 
could have been found a man with an established 
reputation for national knowledge who would 
have thought of making such a statement. This 
brilliant student of affairs in his own country 
tells us "that the psychopathic wards of the hos¬ 
pitals are crowded with people gone stark mad 
under the pressure of hopeless adversity.” One 
serious, contributing cause to the harrowing 
pressure on the backs of many Americans is here 
mentioned. 

The annual cost of our army and navy is ap¬ 
proximately seven hundred million dollars. Pro¬ 
viding for the cost of wars past and future is 
consuming approximately three-fourths of our 
national income. How long, O Lord, how long 
will American people commit such lamentable 
and inexcusable sins? Our national income now 
is above sixty-five billion dollars and increasing, 
and Ambassador Gerard declares that this vol¬ 
ume of business is controlled by sixty-four busi¬ 
ness men and he gives us their names. So far 
these men have not denied the accusation of Mr. 
Gerard. 

Would it not be indescribably deplorable if 
the citizens of this country should permit our 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


121 


nation to repeat the history of Babylon, and 
Greece, and Rome? The cities of America, like 
the cities of other lands, are giving direction to 
the life currents of the country. In many of 
our larger cities and in great numbers of our 
smaller cities and towns it is openly claimed that 
the law is being perverted by the hand of the 
criminal. It is commonly claimed that criminals, 
in some cases, are controlling and using the law 
for their protection and for the promotion of 
contemplated crimes. If some power is not 
brought to the heart of our national life to 
change conditions which have already become 
seriously threatening, what may be expected in 
the future? 

President Glenn Frank of the University of 
Wisconsin, a man who has won a wide hearing, 
makes this alarming prediction: 

“I believe that we shall inevitably enter a new 
'dark ages,’ a period in which civilized values will 
go into decline and the race be thrust back into 
the precarious existence of its primitive ances¬ 
tors, unless we begin with a decent promptness 
to remove the legitimate grounds for these 
fears.” 

Mr. Francis Gribble, in an article in the Nine¬ 
teenth Century Magazine, expresses the belief 
that the future historians "will write that, some 
time in the early part of the twentieth century, 


122 


THE SUPREME NEED 


the last and the most highly organized of the 
world’s civilizations deliberately committed 
suicide.” In his book, Is America Safe for 
Democracy?, Professor McDougall of Harvard 
University gives this startling word: 

"As I watch the American nation speeding 
gaily, with invincible optimism, down the road 
to destruction, I seem to be contemplating the 
greatest tragedy in the history of mankind.” 

Walter N. Johnson, a man who is regarded by 
many of our clearest thinkers as possessing an 
unusual prophetic insight, in one of his recent 
books, speaks his heart in these sentences: 

"The public school is failing in moral educa¬ 
tion and Christian private schools are no longer 
sure of a healthy existence. . . . Our whole 
planet is reeling and quaking under a contest 
that spans all seas and covers all lands. . . . 

"An absolute necessity now is a renewed dy¬ 
namic in men that will solidify government; 
reinforce our courts; launder our political par¬ 
ties; purify our schools; give the family a clean 
bill of health; and empower our churches for 
their work. . . . And the churches are under 
pounding criticism. If they are not vital in¬ 
stitutions, they are going to be pulverized. Will 
they stand the test?” 

This brief look has been taken at present world 
conditions for the purpose of seeing more clear- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


123 


ly the very imperative and urgent need of an 
adequate remedy. The needs of the race are 
just the needs of the individual. Christ can 
meet every need of the individual and every need 
of the world. Dr. Johnson says, "An absolute 
necessity now is a renewed dynamic that will 
. . . empower our churches for their work.” 
And President Glenn Frank declares, "I believe 
that we shall inevitably enter a new ‘dark ages’ 
. . . unless we begin with a decent promptness 
to remove the legitimate grounds for these fears.” 

How are the grounds for these fears to be 
removed? How are the churches to be ade¬ 
quately empowered for their transcendently im¬ 
portant work? The Scripture has the answer to 
these questions. Here is a clear, compelling state¬ 
ment of the Lord Jesus: 

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto myself,” and I believe what 
Jesus says. When Christ lifts up a man, He lifts 
him away from the desire for destructive and 
deadly war. When Christ enters a life and 
elevates that life, He lifts it above any desire to 
share in profits secured out of corrupt practices. 
When Christ’s power is permitted to do its en¬ 
nobling work in a man, that power lifts the man 
completely away from any sort of desire to 
profit at the expense of another. The supreme 
business of the churches is to lift up Christ. 


124 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Christ can meet every need of the individual. 
Christ can meet every need of the world. How¬ 
ever, Christ can meet the needs of the individual 
and the needs of the world only as His power is 
received and experienced. 

Certainly one of the greatest needs of the 
churches today is the consciousness of Christ’s 
presence in their midst. Church people claim 
to assemble for worship in the name of Jesus; 
they claim to be following Him; they declare 
that they love Him; but multitudes do not be¬ 
lieve all that He said. Here is Christ speaking. 
The finest thoughts should be summoned to re¬ 
ceive what He says. "Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them.” There are many who believe 
that Christ was earth’s greatest teacher; that 
Christ died on a cross to redeem all who would 
accept His pardon and His power; that Christ 
is able to save those who have been lured into the 
depths of iniquity; but many of these do not 
believe that His own wondrous presence may be 
realized among His people. The supreme need 
of the churches at this perilous period of human 
history is to come into possession of His presence. 

I never saw electricity but I have been made 
conscious that its power was lighting cities, driv¬ 
ing diseases from human bodies, and turning 
mighty wheels of industry. I have never seen 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


125 


the intricate and sensitive powers of the air but 
I have been convinced that these powers can 
convey the sound of breathing from the South 
Pole and deliver it to waiting ears thousands of 
miles away. I never saw love but I have been 
made conscious that this mighty, matchless, 
miracle-working power is binding together in 
beautiful bonds millions of human hearts today. 
I never saw Christ in any church but again and 
again I have seen evidence of a power which all 
the material sciences of earth cannot possibly 
explain. 

Christ may not be present in some church 
services because there may not be two or three 
assembled in His matchless name. But if there 
are two or three, even this small number, as¬ 
sembled with the spirit of the Man of Calvary 
directing and controlling, then, according to His 
own declaration, Christ is present. The dis¬ 
covery of Christ’s presence is the most important 
discovery for the church people to make now. 

Dean Inge reasons that if men and women 
spend sixteen hours of the day with things and 
not five minutes of the day in the presence of 
the spiritual, things will seem two hundred times 
more real than God. And Sherwood Eddy 
earnestly declares: "Men are not enough in tune 
with the spiritual to discover it; they are not 


126 


THE SUPREME NEED 


pure enough in heart to see God; they are not 
enough morally in earnest to find him.” 

What may be reasonably expected of that 
church whose members meet the condition of 
having Christ in their midst? Not the singing, 
and not the fellowship, and not the preaching 
would be the attraction in that church. The 
presence of the unseen Christ would be the sur¬ 
passing attraction. Men and women and young 
people would enter the building with reverential 
and elevating awe and during the hour of wor¬ 
ship their spirits would be purified afresh by His 
presence. And this purifying process would go 
on continuously. In the services where the pres¬ 
ence of the Man of Galilee is the predominating 
power, those who assemble in His name will go 
hence to reflect His spirit. 

One cannot be in the presence of Jesus with 
open mind and open heart without carrying out 
of such an experience a measure of the very life 
of Christ. In His presence men see their sins 
and want to be freed from their guilt. In His 
presence men see their privilege for progress and 
want to become more like the perfect Man. In 
His presence men and women are captured by 
the wonder of His spirit and they want to go 
hence and tell others what they think. In His 
presence men and women become deeply anxious 
for their acquaintances to know what they have 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


127 


learned, and they go out with a message fired and 
filled with earnestness. One cannot be in the 
presence of the Man of Calvary with open mind 
and open heart without coming into possession 
of the most fascinating story earth has heard. 
Men and women cannot be in the presence of the 
Prince of Peace without being profoundly in¬ 
fluenced. If they attend services where His pres¬ 
ence is the distinguishing characteristic of the 
hour, and if their minds and their hearts are 
responsive, they will go hence from that service 
with new strength for the contests ahead, and 
with unfailing devotion to their Saviour. 

In his history of Napoleon, Tom Watson, de¬ 
scribing the retreat from Moscow, gives an ex¬ 
ample of appealing devotion. "On the coldest 
night of the retreat, when it seemed that the 
young Prince Emil would freeze to death, the 
remnant of the Hessians closed around him, 
'wrapped in their great white cloaks pressed 
tightly against one another, protecting him from 
the wind and cold. The next morning three- 
fourths of them were dead and buried beneath 
the snow.’ ” 

If Hessians would sacrifice their lives for a 
prince whose devotion was uncertain and in a 
cause which possessed but little or no elevating 
power, what should be the character of loyalty 
which those who bear the name of Christ should 


128 


THE SUPREME NEED 


evidence toward the Man of Galilee, the Prince 
of Peace? 

The churches today must have members with 
an unsurpassed type of courage. The tasks are 
too vast and too great for men and women of 
uncertain endurance. The churches must have 
members with the finest loyalty earth has known. 
About us and before us are problems which will 
test the souls even of daring spirits. The churches 
now cannot advance and win the attention, the 
confidence, and the admiration of earth’s lost 
millions except with members whose hearts are 
animated, inspired, and sustained by the presence 
of our matchless Leader and Lord. The churches 
know no need comparable to the discovery of 
Christ’s presence. 

"Where two or three are gathered together in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 
This is the statement of Jesus Himself. When 
the churches assemble in His name, and the mem¬ 
bers discover that He is present, awakenings and 
revivals will be experienced in many thousands 
of congregations, and the kingdom of Christ will 
sweep forward in unprecedented power. 


Chapter XIII 


SINKING HEARTS—GOD SPEAKS 
ITHOUT God any life is on a perilous 



sea. 


Fascinating beyond understanding is a life 
which gives evidence of sustaining power even 
in places which are filled with perils. Nothing, 
nothing within the imagination of man, can 
make the churches invincible in the work of 
world redemption except members whose lives 
give constant and unmistakable evidence of such 
power. 

A prisoner, an Asiatic Jew, was being taken 
by ship from his own country to Rome where 
he was to be tried for a supposed crime. On the 
journey the vessel ran into a storm of threaten¬ 
ing severity. The captains in those days had no 
chart or compass and were unable to sail in 
safety when their vessels were overtaken or met 
by violent winds. The crew met the assaults of 
the storm with all the skill and courage they 
possessed. One day they threw into the sea a 
part of the freight and the next day the furni¬ 
ture of the ship. For days the clouds hid the 
stars and the sun, and the fury of the storm 
drove hope from the hearts of the seamen. 

The fall following that fearful storm which 


130 


THE SUPREME NEED 


wrecked or damaged thousands of homes and 
business houses on the lower east coast of Florida, 
when the government sent out warnings that 
another storm was approaching out of the Carib¬ 
bean Sea, there were many who locked their 
homes, left their work, and drove out of what 
they believed would be the path of the storm. 

But the vessel which was carrying the Asiatic 
prisoner could not get away from the storm. 
The tempest beat upon the ship until "all hope” 
for the ship, the crew, and the passengers, except 
the hope in the heart of that Asiatic prisoner, 
was gone. Hardy seamen lost their appetite as 
their hearts sank in despair. In the midst of 
their peril something happened which can bring 
courage and hope to men and women every¬ 
where who are giving themselves worthily to 
matters of first importance. 

I find something in the Asiatic prisoner which 
the others in that harrowing experience did not 
possess, and that something is the greatest need 
of humanity today. While others were hopeless 
in their uncertainty, he was sustained with hope. 
While others were faltering with fear, this un¬ 
usual prisoner was fearless. If his breast was 
exposed to the storm, the winds beat upon him 
with just as much fury as they beat upon any 
other but he had that which lifted him above 
alarm. He heard the surge of the sea just as did 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


131 


the others on board but he heard a voice above 
the roar of the sea. 

In this story of gripping interest there is a 
message for every heart which is feeling today 
the stress and the strain of world conditions. 
And those who are not feeling the strain of 
world conditions might well understand that 
they are not giving themselves worthily to the 
world’s needs. In the very teeth of apparent 
death the Asiatic prisoner out of a heart of calm¬ 
ness and courage speaks this word of assurance, 
"Be of good cheer.” While all others must have 
been thinking and talking of their certain death, 
what was it that made one man able to stand up 
and say, "Be of good cheer?” What set this 
prisoner apart from all others on board? He 
had that which multitudes of church members 
need today. 

There are denominations that have won many 
thousands of members and have built magnifi¬ 
cent temples in which God is supposed to be 
worshipped by every one who enters. Some of 
these denominations that have been reporting in 
their annual gatherings thousands of new ad¬ 
herents are now reporting heavy losses. Many 
of the largest Christian bodies in America have 
rejoiced in their annual meetings in the testi¬ 
mony of increasing heralds of the redemptive 
message whom they were able to send to the 
severely needy places of earth, but they are not 


132 


THE SUPREME NEED 


rejoicing today in the consciousness that they 
are sending larger numbers of workers to the 
millions who are dying without the privilege of 
even hearing of Jesus. Most of the large bodies 
are seeing their forces distressingly decreased in 
the lands of severest need. There may be those 
who have not taken time to look or who cannot 
see, but there are others who see and see clearly 
today that there is an imperative and urgent 
need for vast numbers of church members really 
to possess that same power which made the As¬ 
iatic prisoner the commanding man of the ship. 

There was that in the life of this man from 
Asia, Paul, which set him distinctly apart and 
above every man on the vessel. Frankly, fear¬ 
lessly, and fervently, evidence indicates, the 
prisoner stood up in the midst of those who had 
lost hope and declared that he was God’s man. 
He began his Christian career with a face to 
face experience with Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus 
had spoken to him in very searching language 
and he had humbly and earnestly replied to 
Jesus. 

Quite apparently there are vast numbers in 
the churches today who have never had any ex¬ 
perience with Jesus. When one meets the Man 
of Galilee, sees something of the wonder of His 
matchless life, offers himself to the Saviour for 
cleansing, and completely commits his life to 
Him as Lord, he never gets over it. He will 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


133 


always have an experience to give to others. 
And as he advances with Jesus in the task which 
stands above every other task, he will have other 
rich and radiant experiences. 

The lamentable weakness of many churches 
today is to be found in the apparent fact that 
there are in their membership a large percent 
who have had no such contact with Christ as did 
this man on the Damascus highway. What per¬ 
cent of Sunday school teachers have the Chris¬ 
tian courage to stand up in the presence of those 
who know not this matchless One and declare 
that they are God’s men and God’s women? 
There are vast numbers "teaching” the Word of 
Life who have never had and do not have con¬ 
tact with Christ which will urge them with in¬ 
spiring compassion to the holy effort of winning 
the lost of their classes to Christ Jesus. Another 
serious need in many churches is the transform¬ 
ing contact with the Redeemer which will make 
the man who sings on Sunday morning: 


"So precious is Jesus, my Saviour, my King, 

His praise all the day long with rapture I sing; 

To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling, 

For He is so precious to me,” 

a convincing messenger on Monday morning to 
those who do not know the power of Christ. 
Here is a man who stands up with powerful 


134 


THE SUPREME NEED 


courage in the midst of those who know not 
God and declares that he is God’s man. There 
is something indescribably great, profoundly 
heartening, in being able to say that we are 
God’s. How many church members believe that 
they are God’s? There are many who are His 
and they carry that assurance in their hearts and 
yet, evidence would compel one to believe, that 
there are many who can not make this wonder¬ 
ful claim. How tremendously important for 
every one who carries the name of Christ to be 
able to say anywhere and in any kind of com¬ 
pany, "I am God’s!” 

This vital relation with God gave to the pris¬ 
oner from Asia a personal power in the hour of 
peril which made the prisoner the leader, the key 
man, of all on board. How important for 
church members everywhere to realize that they 
should constantly give evidence of the emanci¬ 
pating and ennobling power of the Lord Jesus 
whose name they bear. 

Everywhere and in all kinds of conditions 
there should be distinguishing marks about the 
men and the women who bear the name of 
Christ. Just here is one of the shameful and one 
of the threatening weaknesses of many churches 
and indeed of all Christendom at this hour. Too 
frequently there are church members who do 
not give evidence in their conduct of the match¬ 
less power of the Man of Galilee. The physician 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


135 


is suffering with the same disease which has af¬ 
flicted his patient and sometimes his condition is 
just as severe. That is, the distinguishing line 
between the church member and the non-church 
member is sometimes pathetically and pitiably 
absent. No man informed about this ship voy¬ 
age doubts for a moment that such line between 
the unusual prisoner and the members of that 
crew was strikingly clear. If the church mem¬ 
ber does not give unmistakable evidence of the 
distinguishing marks of the Man of Calvary, he 
is failing in his supreme privilege and he may 
be doing incalculable harm. 

For a period of years I knew well a man who 
was an office bearer in a church. He was promi¬ 
nent in the political affairs of the city, the county, 
and the state. What an opportunity was his for 
presenting in his own conduct the power which 
infinitely excels all earthly power, the elevating 
power of Christ Jesus! But just here was his 
shameful and lamentable failure. 

In his office and on the streets he was at times 
very profane. And he was "filling” an office in 
his church of great responsibility. According to 
evidence he became a victim of dishonest prac¬ 
tices in his business, but, for quite a period, was 
able to cover his dishonest dealings. At last his 
sins were made public, and he was forced to bear 
the shame, the serious shame, of his guilt. He 
held an office of large responsibility in a church 


136 


THE SUPREME NEED 


where the indescribably glorious power of Christ 
might have been experienced in his own life and 
evidenced in every day’s doings. 

If the churches of Jesus Christ are to carry 
out His purpose and capture the attention of the 
multitudes who know not the cleansing power 
of Calvary, their members must be able to stand 
up in any company or crowd and declare, "We 
are God’s men and women.” And their lives 
must give unmistakable evidence that their claim 
is correct. 

Denominations may project one campaign 
after another to raise funds to support their in¬ 
stitutions and their work and then see their cam¬ 
paigns relatively fail. The secret of the invin¬ 
cible power of any and all denominations will 
be found in the men and the women who carry 
increasingly in their own lives the power of 
Calvary which expresses itself in every word 
and in every deed. Church members must be 
able to say, "We are His,” and their daily de¬ 
portment must speak louder than their words. 

That was an impressive and a great moment 
as day was breaking, after thirteen days of har¬ 
rowing experience in a storm at sea, when an 
unseen power lifted one of the prisoners on the 
ship far above every other man on board and 
made him the real master of the situation. In 
the presence of the two hundred seventy-six who 
were on board, this prisoner who had been lifted 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


137 


into the position of master of the situation coun¬ 
seled the men to break their fast, and spoke to 
God in the presence of all. Quite probably there 
had never been such a scene as that on any ship 
which had sailed the waters of the Mediter¬ 
ranean. God had been declared in a man’s pri¬ 
vate deportment and now God is acknowledged 
and held up in his open testimony. A ship’s 
crew and passengers had seen marked evidence 
in a man’s life of the measureless power of God. 
What is the secret of this man’s calmness and 
courage in the midst of hopeless and sinking 
hearts? Let him tell the secret. 

"There stood by me this night the angel of 
the God whose I am, whom also I serve, saying, 
Fear not, Paul; thou must stand before Caesar: 
and lo, God hath granted thee all them that sail 
with thee.” 

God had His eyes on the ship as she was beaten 
by the storm for more than thirteen days and 
as the hearts of the seamen sank into despair. 
God had His hands on the winds as they shook 
the ship and threatened to send her to the depths 
of the sea. There was a man on board who had 
met and talked with Jesus, had met Him and 
talked with Him after His ascension. There 
was a man on board who was putting his whole 
life into his effort to lead others to know the 
Christ who was filling the whole horizon of his 
life. God was deeply interested in this man and 


138 


THE SUPREME NEED 


was always for him available. In hours of severe 
test Christ had appeared to him and had given 
him assurance of His presence and His support. 

The churches need nothing so much in this 
turbulent time as that their members shall carry 
into every kind of experience the consciousness 
of God’s deep concern and His presence. Is God 
really available in every kind of experience on 
the unexplored way of tonight and tomorrow? 
This experience declares that He is. Is He able 
to give hope and strength in severely testing 
hours? This experience presents evidence that 
He is. The churches cannot advance another 
step except as they advance in the consciousness 
of God’s care and in the power of His strength. 
We can go further if we will go with Christ. 
Will we not go with Him? 


Chapter XIV 


WHEN CHURCHES WILL NEVER 
TURN BACK 



MAN breathing menace and murder was 


going forth on his mission of destruction 
and death. Death was in his purpose and death 
was in his plan. He was breathing death. He 
was succeeding in his enterprise. His efforts 
were directed against the new power which men 
and women call Christianity. Some had been 
lodged in jail while others had been brought to 
death. He had marshalled all the forces of his 
soul against the new movement and was now on 
his way with death in his brain and death in his 
heart. As he advanced, quite unexpectedly he 
came face to face with the Head of the new 
movement; he came face to face with Jesus. 

Here a man of powerful driving force was 
changed. His plans were changed. His thoughts 
were sent in another direction, the opposite di¬ 
rection, and soon he was seen an ardent sup¬ 
porter of the very cause and the very people 
that he was trying to destroy. A striking and 
a marvelous change occurred in the persecutor’s 
life. He became the most powerful advocate of 
Christianity and the most ardent supporter of 
Christ that the world has known. The secret of 


140 


THE SUPREME NEED 


the change in his life is quite evident. He met 
Jesus and he was transformed by Jesus. Jesus 
had been crucified, had been buried, had arisen, 
and had ascended; but Saul met Jesus, saw Jesus, 
and talked with Jesus, and the experience com¬ 
pletely captured the man and transformed his 
life. This experience occurred on a highway in 
the open, and away from any kind of place of 
worship. Organization was not involved in this 
greatest of all transactions and experiences in 
Christian history. 

Buildings adequate to the working and wor¬ 
shiping needs of congregations are necessary, and 
organization may be made a very valuable ad¬ 
junct to the work of redemption. Quite un¬ 
fortunately, lamentably so, many noble church 
people have permitted their attention to be 
drawn away from Christ to the equipment and 
to the organization. The million dollar plant is 
valueless in the work of redemption if Christ is 
not commandingly present. 

The most perfect organization has no power 
to arrest decay and to give light and life. La¬ 
mentable losses have been suffered and are being 
suffered because multitudes of noble-minded 
church people have permitted their attention 
and their major efforts to be directed to matters 
of minor importance and to be drawn away 
from Christ. The churches that advance, lift 
humanity out of the slough of despair, and have 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


141 


a worthy place in the saving work of Calvary 
must live and move in the power of Christ’s 
presence. Members of such churches will carry 
the consciousness of Christ’s wondrous power to 
change men and women. See the indefinable 
power of the Man of Calvary changing, indeed 
transforming, a man! 

On his way to the ancient capital of Syria this 
man was going. Nobody was sending him. No 
organization, according to the best testimony, 
was supporting him financially. This "most re¬ 
spectable persecutor” was bloodthirsty and was 
making a four or five days’ journey to bring to 
jail and, if need be, to death the men and the 
women who had committed their lives to the 
Lord Jesus. Finely trained, richly endowed by 
nature, and equipped with a mighty determina¬ 
tion, this man, with destruction and death in 
his heart, was hunting for the men and the 
women who were friends and followers of the 
Prince of Peace. And on this search he met the 
Prince of Peace. A conversation followed, every 
word of which is packed with significance. Ask 
God for wisdom and discernment and listen to 
this conversation. 

Jesus speaks: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
thou me?” 

Saul replies: "Who art thou, Lord?” 

Jesus speaks: "I am Jesus whom thou perse¬ 
cutest.” 


142 


THE SUPREME NEED 


Saul replies: "Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do?” 

At first the bloodthirsty persecutor did not 
know that he had met the Lord Jesus. Now he 
discovered that he was face to face with God’s 
Son. He had believed that Jesus was an imposter 
and that His followers were "blasphemers wor¬ 
thy of death.” But now he was convinced that 
he had been altogether mistaken and that He, in 
whose presence he was, was the Messiah, the 
Redeemer, the Son of God. In the presence of 
the Lord Jesus! What could he do? He was 
convinced; he abandoned his purpose instantly; 
he offered himself to the Redeemer. Changed! 
Indeed he was changed. Transformed! Cer¬ 
tainly he was transformed. This is exactly what 
Christ is ready to do now. An instant ago he 
was a bloodthirsty persecutor with destruction 
and death in his heart; immediately he became a 
transformed man enquiring of the Stranger what 
he should do. What was the influence of Christ’s 
presence upon this bloodthirsty persecutor? 

The contribution of the experience became 
Paul’s powerful equipment. Christ’s presence 
changed everything. His life was ever after¬ 
ward directed by a wholly different purpose. It 
was Christ that changed the man and it was 
Christ’s presence that made his life an invincible 
force in changing the lives of others. The pres- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


143 


ence of Jesus was the power which sustained and 
supported him every step of the way. 

Having been rescued from a mob, he stands 
here on the stairs of the tower of Antonia in 
charge of the military tribune, and asks for 
the privilege of speaking. And what does he 
say? He goes back to that hour when he first 
met Jesus and declares: 

"I fell upon the ground, and heard a voice 
saying unto me, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
thou me?’ And I answered, 'Who art thou, 
Lord?’ And He said unto me, 'I am Jesus of 
Nazareth whom thou persecutest.’ ” 

There he is in Caesarea brought out of prison 
by Festus, the Roman governor, before Herod 
Agrippa II and his sister, Bernice, of Chalsis. He 
is given the privilege of presenting his own cause 
and case. What’s the very heart of his message? 
Here is the heart of his mighty appeal: 

"Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with 
the authority and commission of the chief 
priests, at midday, O king, I saw on the way a 
light from heaven, above the brightness of the 
sun, shining round about me and them that jour¬ 
neyed with me. And ... I heard a voice 
saying unto me . . . 'Saul, Saul, why per¬ 

secutest thou me?’ And I said, 'Who art thou, 
Lord?’ And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom 
thou persecutest.’ ” 

In the presence of the Lord of Glory the spirit 


144 


THE SUPREME NEED 


of persecution died. It could not live in Christ’s 
presence. It never has been able to live where 
Christ lived. Jealousy, hate, enmity, and preju¬ 
dice must die when Christ approaches and is 
received. In the place of the spirit of persecu¬ 
tion the immortal virtues were given, and soon 
one saw evidence of their appealing growth, and 
they grew until their possessor became a man of 
towering strength and marvelous influence. 

The presence of Christ is the secret of Paul’s 
determination to carry the gospel to the great 
centers of population. The presence of the 
Prince of Peace is the secret of his courage as he 
constantly contended with his persecutors. The 
presence of Jesus explains his compelling com¬ 
passion as he proclaimed the gospel and planted 
churches. The presence of the Friend of Sin¬ 
ners is the source of his inspiration as he wrote 
his immortal messages, messages which have in¬ 
fluenced millions, many millions, down through 
the centuries. The presence of Jesus made Paul 
all that he was and all that he is. 

Here is to be found the secret of power for 
the testing days and the mighty tasks of the 
present. If all who are members of churches 
today had experienced the presence of Christ 
Jesus as did Paul, Christendom would capture 
the attention of the world within sixty days. 
The lamentable weakness of many churches is 
the utter lack of a vital experience with the Lord 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


145 


Jesus on the part of many of us who are mem¬ 
bers. The work of the kingdom cannot be set 
forward by the hands of men and women who 
know not the Saviour. There are multitudes, 
volumes of evidence indicates, who have "joined” 
the churches without ever having heard Jesus 
speak and without ever having felt the power of 
His presence. 

The churches whose influence reaches out in 
redemptive work in the community or city; the 
churches that will send forth God-called young 
men and young women to the places of appalling 
need; the churches whose members will sacrifice 
and rejoice in their sacrifices to send and support 
those who have answered the divine summons to 
fields of destitution and even death; the churches 
that move with the Son of God into the great 
work of world redemption will be the churches 
whose members had, before they were received 
into the fellowship of the church and continue 
to have, vital contact with Him who said to 
Saul, "I am Jesus.” 

The churches today must have this type of 
man and this type of woman. Christendom is 
suffering, lamentably suffering, for the presence 
of those whose equipment is their conscious con¬ 
tact with the Redeemer. Some can stand before 
classes with the Word of Life in their hands and 
impressively give the historicity and the geogra¬ 
phy of certain events but they will never bring 


146 


THE SUPREME NEED 


one soul into fellowship with Christ. Others 
may go to lands and live among people who 
know nothing of the reclaiming and the lifting 
power of the Lord of Glory and they may tell 
and teach much of the social work of the gospel 
and the by-products of Christianity, but they 
will never set the kingdom forward in the com¬ 
munity of darkness. Men may stand in God’s 
pulpits who have spent years in school and re¬ 
ceived the ministry of finely prepared professors 
but, unless they are evangels of the matchless 
experience of daily contact with Christ, they 
will never give hope to one heavy heart and they 
will never turn one pair of feet from the way 
of ruin. 

The rediscovery of the consciousness of Christ 
is an imperative. The fading out of the God- 
consciousness on the part of many is the most 
lamentable loss of the centuries. Nothing will 
bring back power to the churches except the re¬ 
discovery of Christ’s presence. The finest fel¬ 
lowship will never produce the power to trans¬ 
form. 

On a Sunday morning I visited a large and 
beautiful house of the Lord and attended an 
enthusiastic class of men in the Sunday school. 
The fellowship was fine, much the same as one 
would experience in an ideal dinner club. The 
director of music for the class led the men in 
singing three hymns which had for their subject 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


147 


the Friend of Sinners, the Prince of Peace, the 
Lord of Glory. The first hymn was: 

“So precious is Jesus, my Saviour, my King, 

His praise all the day long with rapture I sing; 

To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling, 

For He is so precious to me.” 


The second hymn was one of praise. 

"We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love, 

For Jesus who died, and is now gone above/* 

The third hymn was designed by the hymn 
writer to give opportunity for the expression of 
joy in the consciousness of Christ’s inclusive 
work of redemption. 

"I am so happy in Christ today, 

That I go singing along my way; 

Yes, I am so happy to know and say, 

‘Jesus included me too.* *’ 

I saw on no man’s face any evidence that he 
was "so happy in Christ today.” The fellowship 
was splendid of its kind. So far as one could 
observe it was almost entirely human. Human 
fellowship of the right kind is noble but the 
most noble of all human fellowship cannot 
change the human heart. The singing was en¬ 
thusiastic to some degree but there seemed to 


148 


THE SUPREME NEED 


be no evidence of divine awe and no sense of 
Christ’s presence in the singing. 

The teacher was a professional man and per¬ 
haps the leader of his profession in the state. 
The lesson dealt with the work of God the Holy 
Spirit in one of the great epochs of Christianity. 
The teacher said some valuable things about con¬ 
ditions in his city, his county, his state, and his 
nation, and mentioned some of the edges of the 
lesson. The heart was not reached. I wondered 
if the men went away with any more “zeal to 
labor,” and with any more of the courage of 
Christ in their hearts. I wondered if they felt 
that they had been in His presence. If that body 
of men had realized convincingly the presence of 
the Lord Jesus that hour, they would have gone 
forth with a story which would have captured 
the attention of the city. The fading out of the 
Christ-consciousness is the most lamentable loss 
of the Christian centuries. 

One man, a bloodthirsty persecutor, met the 
Lord Jesus and talked with Him. He was 
changed instantly. He was transformed. He 
possessed an experience which was a mighty 
equipment and which has made his influence a 
mighty power through the centuries. When 
professing Christians advance in the presence of 
Christ, they will capture the attention of the 
world and will win millions and multi-millions 
to the Lord Jesus. 


Chapter XV 


THIS EXPERIENCE IS THE SUPREME 
NEED NOW 



’HIS morning, the daily papers are carrying 


JL a United Press story of an unusual experi¬ 
ence in the Ohio State prison located in Colum¬ 
bus. The article has lessons which will burn 
themselves into the thinking of thoughtful read¬ 
ers. Here are excerpts from the portrayal of 
this strange drama: 

“Broken and silent, forty convicts were led 
today from the solitary punishment cells in 
which they had been confined for eighteen 
months, sullenly to resume 'normal 5 life with 
their fellow prisoners at Ohio State penitentiary. 

“Ring leaders in the riot and incendiarism that 
made a charnel house of the prison last year and 
cost the lives of three hundred twenty-two con¬ 
victs, the forty silent men appeared burned out 
in spirit and wrecked in physique. Two of their 
fellows went mad under the torture of isolation, 
and are now in the Lima institution for mental 
treatment. 

“Among the forty released after a year and 
a half of solitude, wherein there was no man to 
talk to, no man to see, and nothing with which 
to occupy the mind except the dread of mem- 


150 


THE SUPREME NEED 


ories of the night of April 21, 1930, when the 
prison became a screaming inferno, were two 

who were directly responsible for the fire. 

* * * 

"Months passed and the guards reported that 
'when a kindness is shown to one of them he 
weeps.’ When this was announced, Warden 
P. E. Thomas decided to let them have maga¬ 
zines.” 

Shut away from the attractive incidentals of 
life and shut away from all companions, all 
reading matter, and all the usual methods of en¬ 
tertaining, these prisoners who had gone or had 
been lured deep into sin saw life differently and 
some of them, and perchance most of them, saw 
their imperative need of God. The story closes 
with these words: 

"Today, it was said, some of the prayers of 
the men could be heard in the corridors at night. 
They had turned to religion for comfort against 
the awful silence.” 

How any one could survive the severity of 
such solitary confinement is quite difficult to un¬ 
derstand. Such confinement does give oppor¬ 
tunity for one to meditate upon his past record, 
his present condition, and his future possibilities. 

I have read another story this morning which 
is transcendently more interesting than is this 
prison story of gripping human concern. This 
second story also comes out of a prison experi- 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


151 


ence. The writer had been exiled on Patmos 
"for the Word of God and for the testimony of 
Jesus Christ.” This commandingly interesting 
prisoner, this man of whom much has been 
written, begins the relating of his experience by 
saying, "I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day.” 
He was under the control of the Spirit, com¬ 
pletely responsive to the Spirit, on the Lord’s 
day. 

These nine words from this Asiatic prisoner, 
from this man whose story of Christ is loved 
around the world, contain the secret to the 
wonderful revelation which follows. He was in 
the Spirit, he was under control of the Spirit, he 
was completely responsive to the Spirit, on the 
Lord’s day. 

One of the very serious weaknesses of Chris¬ 
tendom, indeed a weakness which is fatal with 
many church members, is to be found just here. 
There are millions who enter churches on the 
Lord’s day who are not in the Spirit. They are 
not under His control. They are not completely 
responsive to Him. Shall the deep conviction 
of the heart be spoken? Evidence compels one 
to believe that there are large numbers in the 
churches who have never known Him. 

I was the guest of a church of recognized in¬ 
fluence in the convention in which it is located. 
This also was on the Lord’s day. One of the 
men of the church, a man who has held for years 


152 


THE SUPREME NEED 


positions of large responsibility both in his city 
and in the state, a “leading” man in the church, 
was asked to teach a men’s Bible class. Another 
adult class was invited to sit with this body of 
men that its members might hear the teaching of 
the Scripture by this man who had distinguished 
himself in his city and in his state. The man 
had a real opportunity. Some time was spent by 
the president of the men’s class and by an of¬ 
ficer of the visiting class lauding the man who 
had been asked to present that morning the 
Word of Life. The teacher for the classes for 
the day was then presented. 

He evidenced a very superficial knowledge of 
the Word of God and apparently did not im¬ 
press any one present that he “was in the Spirit 
on the Lord’s day.” If he too had been under 
the control of the Spirit, what elevated thinking 
and what holy purposes might have been ex¬ 
perienced! It was the Lord’s day. The man 
was asked and was expected to unfold the mes¬ 
sage of God Himself. This message demands 
men and women who experience the power of 
the Lord’s presence, who are completely respon¬ 
sive to the Spirit when they present His message. 
A pleasing, popular politician cannot function 
in this holy place. Anyone who unfolds God’s 
message must experience God’s peace, must be 
quickened by Christ’s presence, and must give 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


153 


his testimony in the Spirit’s power. Here is in¬ 
dicated an imperative need in many churches. 

If the members of Christ’s churches would 
assemble on the Lord’s day in the Spirit, there 
would be a power of fellowship which would 
kill all snobbery and cant and insincerity; there 
would be present a power which would stir into 
growth noble purposes which are now being 
starved; there would be a warmth and a win¬ 
someness in the assembly which would pro¬ 
foundly influence the stranger, and cause him to 
feel that he was in God’s house; there would be 
an impelling Presence that would send forth 
those who know Christ with their own hearts 
equipped with fresh strength and courage for 
all the tests and tasks ahead. For all who are in 
the Spirit on the Lord’s day there are revelations 
of eternal moment. 

For this prisoner on dreary Patmos who "was 
in the spirit on the Lord’s day” there were other 
imperishable experiences. He heard a matchless 
voice. He was assigned an immortal task. He 
saw the Prince of Peace. The great majority of 
church members are neither hearing the voice of 
Christ nor the voices of the many, many mil¬ 
lions who do not yet know Him who is their 
only hope. There are numbers almost too large 
to count who do not feel that they have any 
assignment in the work of world redemption. 
There are multitudes, vast multitudes, through- 


154 


THE SUPREME NEED 


out Christendom who do not realize the presence 
of Christ. Very reverently follow the exiled 
Asiatic in his experience. 

"I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and 
heard behind me a great voice .... 

"And I turned to see the voice that spake with 
me. And being turned, I saw seven golden can¬ 
dlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candle¬ 
sticks, one like unto the Son of Man.” 

What was the influence on this exiled Asiatic, 
this man whose influence since has covered con¬ 
tinents and centuries, of his vision of Christ? 
He had walked with the Lord Jesus when Christ 
was on the earth. He was present when the Man 
of Calvary was transfigured. He stood near 
when the Prince of Peace was hanging on the 
Cross. He must have been present when Jesus 
ascended. And now he is permitted to see Him 
in His post-ascension glory. What was the in¬ 
fluence on this apostle of this look at Jesus? His 
own words indicate that influence. Here is what 
he says: 

"And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as 
dead.” 

There was an hour when a glimpse of the 
power of the Man of Galilee brought Simon 
Peter to his knees. And the first impact of the 
matchless power of the presence and the glory of 
His personality smote that daring and dauntless 
man, Saul of Tarsus, to the earth. Here on a 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


155 


Lord’s day morning one of His most loyal friends 
is given the privilege of looking upon Him in 
His post-ascension glory and the influence can¬ 
not be fully described or comprehended. He 
surely saw the holiness of Christ as he had never 
seen it before. Out of this clearer vision of 
Christ’s holiness and His glory, he is assigned the 
task of writing a book and this book lives and 
gives hope and inspiration to men and women 
through the centuries. John on Patmos saw 
Christ and experienced the indefinable power of 
His presence, and his whole life by the experi¬ 
ence was powerfully influenced. Until Christ 
is permitted to become real to men and women, 
they can never make Him real to others. 

How real is Christ to the average teacher of 
God’s Word? How real is Christ to many minis¬ 
ters who are expected to lead the people into 
closer relations with God? How real is Christ 
to many church officers? How real is Christ to 
the average member of the average Sunday 
school class? Men and women to whom Christ 
is not real can never make Christ real to others. 

The world is sick, seriously sick, and Christ, 
the real, living Christ, is the only hope of this 
sick world. There are perhaps but very few 
who know how seriously sick the world is. The 
seriousness of sin is only seen by those who know 
something of God’s holiness. Dr. John Henry 
Jowett fervently declares: 


1 56 


THE SUPREME NEED 


"Because we do not discern the majestic cru¬ 
sade of holiness, we do not realize the enormity 
of sin. If we look into the mystery of redemp¬ 
tion and do not see the august holiness of God, 
we can never see the blackness of the sovereignty 
of sin. Dim your sense of holiness, and you 
lighten the colour of sin. Obscure the holiness 
and you relieve the blackness of sin.” 

Ministers everywhere need to realize anew a 
sense of Christ’s presence and His holiness. The 
teachers of the Word of Life—teachers in the 
colleges, seminaries, and in the churches—need to 
see Christ and feel the wonder of His holiness. 
Singers who are heralding the messages of praise 
and proclamation, of goodness and grace, are 
wasting their time unless they are singing out of 
hearts that experience the power of the Prince 
of Peace. Ministers, teachers, singers, and lead¬ 
ers can never lead into experiences which they 
do not know. They cannot proclaim the evangel 
which they themselves do not possess. They can 
never undertake with any hope of victory the 
immortal tasks for which they are not prepared. 

The prisoner on Patmos proclaims a marvelous 
story because he had a marvelous experience. 
The men and the women who are able to put 
their hands with hope to the task of ministering 
to a sorely sick world are the men and the women 
who are vitally acquainted with the Man of 
Galilee and are experiencing the purifying power 


OF THE WORLD TODAY 


157 


of His holiness. The churches that capture the 
attention of their communities and their cities 
for Christ and that develop workers and wit¬ 
nesses of invincible courage and compassion must 
experience the purifying power of Christ’s holi¬ 
ness and the sustaining strength of His presence. 

Behold the prisoner of Patmos! Instead of 
having freedom of movement he was in exile; 
in place of a half-million or a million dollar 
pulpit from which to proclaim his message, he 
probably had a rude cave in the side of a hill; 
in place of railway mail cars, airplanes, and sen¬ 
sitive microphones to dispatch quickly his mes¬ 
sages across states and continents, the prisoner on 
Patmos had to trust his message to what ap¬ 
peared to be almost impossible difficulties; in¬ 
stead of an easy chair surrounded by cases of the 
most valuable books, the Patmos apostle probably 
sat in the crude environment of a cave and 
looked upon the barren walls of rock or earth. 
But he had that which has projected his message 
through the superstition and darkness of the cen¬ 
turies and has given hope to unnumbered mil¬ 
lions. 

Modern conveniences and equipment can be 
made to contribute to the effectiveness of the 
evangel but the churches must have the essentials 
of John’s experiences or close their doors. Many 
are already dead though they may not know it. 
Other churches are dying and are not very con- 


158 


THE SUPREME NEED 


scious that death is upon them. There are still 
others and many of them that are hesitating and 
halting before opportunities which are urgent 
and appealing. There are other churches that 
are giving themselves seriously to the tasks as¬ 
signed by Christ. Such churches are the hope 
of Christendom. 

The Patmos prisoner, the apostle who was ex¬ 
iled "for the Word of God,” saw Christ in the 
midst of the churches. That is where Christ de¬ 
lights to be. The churches must have Him or 
discontinue. If their members will welcome 
Him and enter deep into His fellowship, if they 
will look upon Him and have their own spirits 
fired by a sense of His holiness and the splendour 
of His glory, they will immediately make match¬ 
less impacts upon their communities and cities, 
and they will awaken and arouse whole conti¬ 
nents. Christ, Christ in His awe-inspiring, puri¬ 
fying holiness; Christ in His redeeming and 
transforming power: that is the immediate and 
the supreme need of the churches. The mem¬ 
bers of such churches will be invincible in carry¬ 
ing the gospel to the corners of the earth. 









































